New Delhi: How often do we come across female bus drivers running a government bus in India? Yes you heard it right, in a historical first, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has recruited its first woman driver who hails from Telangana. Thirty-year-old Saritha is the youngest of five daughters and her luck to land a government job was not an easy one she said. After the demise of her father, this young woman had to get into the driver’s seat — of auto-rickshaws and minibuses to feed the family. “I started driving an auto-rickshaw in my mid-20s. It was in 2011 that I first drove a bus — it was more of a minibus — in Hyderabad. It gave me the confidence to earn a livelihood with dignity,” Saritha recalls. Saritha said she approached the Azad Foundation, an NGO based in Delhi, where she heard are give training to women to drive taxis. She now wants to be an example for her male counterparts and all the other woman out their who wants to earn a living with dignity. The Transport department received seven applications from women candidates of which five turned up for the interview and after medical examination Saritha was found fit to drive a bus. “I am thankful to the DTC for giving me a chance. It is a big opportunity for me. A government job is a huge thing in my family,” Saritha, who has been posted to the Sarojini Nagar depot, said.

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