Siddipet (Telangana): Babburi Sirisha from Siddipet district broke the glass ceiling by becoming the first woman appointee as a Junior Line Men (JLM). She competed with men for the selection of linemen conducted by the Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TSSPDCL) and cleared tests such as pole climbing to secure the job.
Her achievement did not go unnoticed since Power Minister Jagadish Reddy himself handed over the appointment letter to Sirisha.TSSPDCL managing director Raghuma Reddy also congratulated her.
Sirisha hails from the Ganeshpally village of Markook Mandal in Siddipet district. She is working as Circle Line Woman in Medchal. Giving up was never an option for her. Sirisha had persevered to get the job and had passed all the qualifying exams. The main test in recruitment is climbing power poles. As Sirisha was the first woman to have applied for the job, TSSPDCL got an order from the High Court on December 20, 2021, for holding the test, which was conducted recently.
Sirisha climbed the poles with ease and bagged the job. With this, Sirisha became the only woman to secure the post in the recent recruitment, and also the only woman selected for the post in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Sirisha said she was happy to become the first female lineman in TSSPDCL. She added that women are no less than men and can excel in all fields. She said that she will work hard and make her organization proud. She extended special thanks to Chief Minister KCR, Minister Jagadish Reddy, and CMD Raghuma Reddy for giving her the opportunity. She said that her parents have supported her a lot and that she had practiced the difficult task of climbing poles under the guidance of her uncle.
Minister Jagadish Reddy added that it is a great pleasure to see women venturing into new paths and becoming successful. As more women are applying for the JLM posts, the government said that it would take appropriate steps to make the selection gender-neutral. Earlier, Telangana Transco recruited 200 line women for the first time in the history of the power sector.
