Coal India achieved another milestone on Friday after Shivani Meena became the first mining engineer in the excavation cadre to work in an open cast mine weeks after Barkagaon mining engineer Akanksha Kumar became the first woman in the PSU to work in an underground mine when she joined Churi mines.

“Shivani Meena joined the Rajrappa project, a mechanised open cast mine in the Rajrappa area of CCL as an excavation engineer. This is unprecedented as she is the first woman engineer in the excavation cadre to work in an open cast mine. She has been given the responsibility of maintenance and repair of heavy earth moving machinery (HEMM),” the company said in a statement.

Rajrappa is an important project of CCL. Recently, it received an award from the coal ministry.

Meena is from Bharatpur in Rajasthan. She completed her engineering from IIT-Jodhpur. “I thank my family and the government for their unwavering support which opened doors for women to venture in hardcore mining work,” she said.

Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi congratulated Shivani. He tweeted: “#NariShakti all the way! Congratulations @CCLRanchi. Hoping that this will open avenues for more female professionals to join the mining sector. @smritiirani.”

CCL CMD P.M. Prasad maintained that after underground mines, women engineers have registered their entry in open cast mines, thus giving the required impetus to gender equality and women's empowerment in the coal mining industry.

“Until now, the niche work typically has been a foray of men. Girls like Shivani and Akanksha have not merely brought laurels to themselves and their families, but they are a motivation for many others who wish to pursue their leads across the country,” he said.