Kolkata-based Taniya Sanyal becomes the first ever woman firefighter appointed by the Airport Authority of India (AAI). The state-run AAI has a total of 3,310 firefighters operating the mandatory fire service for planes to land. And not one of them is a woman and hence, the authority understood that it is about time to bring women into the force.
Sanyal will join the team in a month as currently, she is undergoing training in the capital city. As a profession, AAI did not consider having recruitment criteria for women until very recently.
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“We were facing a shortage of firefighters due to expansion and new airports coming up. We brought in contemporary rules and decided to recruit women in this field which required criteria for physical standards. I had done similar rule changes in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation for firefighters. We then set the standards for recruiting women firefighters. This is the first time a woman has joined our ranks in this field and it will continue now,” AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra, who brought about this change, told TOI.
It is a matter of pride and great honour for me. I always wanted to do something challenging.
The authority had the standard criteria for men firefighters as having a minimum height of about 1.6 metres and at least weigh 50 kg. But for women they had to reduce both having brought down the weight to 40 kg and similarly reduced the height too. While the physical standards have changed, the authority has kept the work description same for both genders.
Taniya graduated in Botany and the AAI has inducted her in eastern region airports that include Kolkata, Patna, Bhubaneswar, Raipur, Gaya and Ranchi. After her training, she will work in any one of these airports.
“It is a matter of pride and great honour for me. I always wanted to do something challenging. Firefighting is a very noble calling,” said Sanyal. She also expressed that her family supported her in her profession.
Picture credit- Twitter
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