Hyderabad: The Telangana state government has issued orders for the appointment of 199 women to the posts of junior linesmen in the Electricity Department. It has to be noted that this is the first such kind of appointment in the history of the country in which a big number of women has been selected for the posts of junior linesmen.
Generally, men are appointed to the posts of junior linesmen because their prime task is to climb the electric poles while women usually hesitate to come forward for such kind of a job. In addition, the women’s guardians also do not encourage their daughters to take up this work.
In this regard, Telangana Transmission Corporation Limited(TS Transco) in December 2017 had issued a notification to fill up vacancies of 1100 junior linesmen in which 33 percent of posts were reserved for women. Of the 1100 vacancies, more than 150 posts are still not filled while for the remaining 950 posts, a list of eligible candidates was notified.
Of the 950 candidates, a total of 684 candidates were given postings after they passed the written exam as well cleared the technical assessment of climbing the electric pole.
On the basis of women reservations in the Electricity Department, many women and girls candidates who have successfully become ITI Electricians had submitted applications for the job vacancies of junior linesmen. A test to climb the electric pole as high as 10-20 metres while keeping themselves safe from the high tension wires was also conducted during the interview.
Many women candidates showed tremendous courage to not only pass the written exam but also in climbing the towers and electric poles.
On the occasion of Dusshera, the state government issued orders for the appointment of 684 candidates for the posts of junior linesmen which included 199 women.