Pooja Devi, a mother of three children has become the first woman to take control of the steering wheel of a passenger bus in Jammu and Kashmir, reported Times of India.
On 24 December, the middle-aged woman, who hails from the Kathua, in Jammu division, ferried passengers to Jammu for the first time.
Devi was accompanied by her toddler son when she was driving the passenger bus on the Jammu-Kathua route. A day later, the pictures of the woman, controlling the steering wheel, went viral on social media platforms.
Meanwhile, speaking to newspaper, Devi narrated her ordeal, saying she pursued her passion to become a professional driver despite the opposition from the family members. “My family did not support me initially. But, I am not educated enough to choose any other job, and this suits me. I used to drive a taxi to learn how to drive commercial vehicles. I also drove a truck in Jammu,” The Times of India quoted her as saying.
She further hopes to inspire other women in the UT to fulfill their dreams. “I wanted to break the taboo that only men can drive passenger buses. I wanted to send out a message to all women who want to try their hand at challenging jobs and to those whose families would not let them follow their dreams,” she told TOI.
