Ranchi, Aug 31 (PTI) Akanksha Kumari has become Coal India"s first woman mining engineer to work in an underground mine, CIL arm CCL said on Tuesday. She is the second woman mining engineer in the Maharatna conglomerate Coal India Ltd (CIL) and the first one to join Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) at its Churi underground mines in North Karanpura area in Jharkhand. A CCL statement said, "Akanksha Kumari became the first woman mining engineer to join CCL. Our woman employees have been shouldering responsibilities ranging from officers to doctors to security guards and even running heavy machines like dumper and shovel and have excelled in each role. “ However, this is the first time when the core mining activity of one of the biggest coal mining companies of the world will witness this progressive change. ..Akanksha is the first one to work in an underground coal mine.” A resident of Barkagaon in Hazaribagh district, Akanksha had done her schooling from Navodaya Vidyalaya. Belonging to a mining belt, Akanksha had witnessed coal mining activities from close quarters ... she developed a natural inquisitiveness towards mines since childhood, which led her to opt for mining engineering at BIT Sindri in Dhanbad. Before joining CCL, she had worked for three years in Hindustan Zinc Limited"s Balaria mines in Rajasthan, the statement said. "She credits her family for unflinching support to follow her dreams. She said joining Coal India Limited was the fulfillment of her childhood dream and hopes to deliver her best for the company," the statement added. Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi, CMD, CCL PM Prasad along with all directors and the CCL family congratulated her. PTI NAM MM MM