Siddipet: Women have been proving time and again that they were no inferior to men by stepping into all the professions across the world. In one such case, a 20-year-old woman from Ganeshpally village of Markook mandal in Siddipet district has become the first linewoman by cracking the Junior Lineman recruitment examination conducted by the TSSPDCL (Telangana Southern Power Distribution Corporation Limited).
Babburi Sirisha, the girl belonging to Gajwel Assembly constituency, along with another woman V Bharathi, a native of Mahabubabad district, had approached the High Court when they were denied from applying for the male-dominated post in the year 2019. The TSSPDCL opined that women will find it difficult to discharge duties as linewomen since they need to climb the eighteen-feet electricity poles quite frequently which was considered perlilous for women.
However, Sirisha, who completed ITI in Electrician trade, along with eight other women, had forced the TSSPDCL to change their opinion by approaching the High Court and permit them to apply for the post. Out of the eight people who applied for the post, Sirisha and Bharathi have qualified the written examination. However, the TSSPDCL has put the results withheld forcing them to again approach the court. When the High Court instructed the TSSPDCL to allow the two women for Pole Test, Sirisha had climbed up and down within a minute and qualified for the post along with Bharathi, who had become just the first two linewomen in the history of the electricity department in the entire State. The two women had cleared the pole test on December 23 in 2020. The High Court has instructed the TSSPDCL to issue appointment letters within a month after they cleared the test.
Speaking to Telangana Today, Sirisha said her uncle B Shekar, a Sub-Engineer with TSSPDCL, has guided her to study electrician trade since she was very particular about getting into a government service before getting married. Since no woman was applying for the post, Shekar has suggested his niece to complete ITI so that she can get eligibility for the Linemen recruitment examination.
Living up to his expectations, Sirisha has landed the job overcoming all the challenges in the way. Attributing her success to her parents and uncle, Sirisha said that her parents Venkatesh and Radhika, a landless labour couple, were always supportive in every step of her life. However, she has observed climbing the pole is not an easy job. Sirisha has said that she practiced under the guidance of her uncle for a couple of months to master it. Now, she is able to climb the pole up and down in less than a minute.
The girl, who scored 7.2 GPA in her SSC, is now pursuing II year of her BA at Dr Br Ambedkar Open University.
Now you can get handpicked stories from Telangana Today on Telegram everyday. Click the link to subscribe.