Meet India’s first woman underground coal miner

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 31

India on Tuesday got its first woman underground coal miner with Jharkhand’s Akanksha Kumari breaking into the male bastion.

Living up to her name, Akanksha, 25, was today posted at Churi underground mines in North Karanpura area of Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd. She has become the first Indian woman mining engineer to join CCL where females have so far worked as officers, doctors, security guards and heavy machine handlers.

Sanjay Kumar, general manager, CCL, said, “She is ambitious and bold. Mining, being against nature, is always challenging.”

Since Independence, laws regulating Indian mining did not allow women to enter underground mine operations. The relaxation came in 2019.

“I know the dangers of mining, but the excitement of entering uncharted territory is huge. It outweighs the risks,” Akanksha said.

Born in Hazaribagh’s Barkagaon, where coal was the mainstay of her household chores, Akanksha said the mysteries of mining always fascinated her. At Navodaya Vidyalaya where she schooled, she heard more about the region’s mining exploits, which strengthened her resolve.

“I always dreamt of this day,” says the mining engineer who graduated from the Birsa Institute of Technology, Dhanbad. Her first stint was at Hindustan Zinc’s Balaria mines in Rajasthan.

Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said, “It is a big day. To promote gender equality and generate more opportunities, the government allowed women to work in underground coal mines.”