All-women crew train flagged off

Visakhapatnam: Marking a week-long celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD), the Guntur–Rayagada Express was operated by an all-women crew from Visakhapatnam to Rayagada.

The train was flagged off by Divisional Railway Manager Lalit Bohra at Visakhapatnam Railway Station on Monday.

Waltair Division of East Coast Railway has consistently been at the forefront of promoting women’s empowerment, engaging women in various roles such as track maintenance, train operations and other key areas. Women employees are playing vital roles in route relay interlocking operations, train management, loco operations, ticket checking and office administration.

Also, the division has established all-women teams at loco sheds responsible for maintaining crucial parts of locomotives. In addition, dedicated women’s security teams Meri Saheli and Subhadra Vahini are actively ensuring safety and well-being of women passengers both on trains and at railway stations.

As part of the International Women’s Day celebrations, Waltair Division organised a host of events at Sri Srinivasa Kalyana Mandapam. The events included a seminar on ‘understanding child psychology – a guide for working women’ delivered by Pragati Prajapati, Primary Teacher, Kendriya Vidyalaya, and a workshop on psychology and stress management conducted by Bhaghyasree Anant Barbadikar from Art of Living. Besides, an awareness programme on women’s health and nutrition was delivered by Divisional Medical Officer Bhashini Priyanka. These apart, fun games were held to engage participants and provide entertainment to the audience.

In his address, the DRM emphasised that International Women’s Day is not merely an occasion for celebration but a reminder to continue striving for women’s empowerment and accelerating efforts to overcome gender inequality. He stated that more than 1,600 women employees are working round the clock in Waltair Division, making significant contributions in various fields and playing extraordinary roles in shaping their communities and society. He mentioned that every effort would be made to provide basic amenities to all the women staff at workplaces. He welcomed any suggestions for betterment of the working environment of women staff or officers so as to make the division a role model for women empowerment. He proudly shared that the entire crew of Train No. 17243 Guntur–Rayagada Express from Visakhapatnam to Rayagada comprised women staff, and all operational staff at Visakhapatnam Railway Station were women on this special occasion.

ADRM (Infrastructure) E. Santharam, ADRM (Operations) K. Rama Rao, senior divisional personnel officer Jusuf Kabir Ansari, branch officers, women staff, sportswomen, RPF personnel, and civil defence personnel attended. Lalit Bohra appreciated the efforts of the East Coast Railway Women’s Welfare Organisation under the guidance of its president Jyotsna Bohra for shouldering social responsibility in upliftment of the morale of women workforce, contribution in development of infrastructure and congratulated all the women teams of the division for their remarkable achievements.