File photo of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
A 30-year old woman driver of a heavy cargo truck was conferred the Tamil Nadu government's Kalpana Chawla Award for Courage and Daring Enterprise for 2015 by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in Chennai today.
After hoisting the national flag and delivering her Independence Day address, Jayalalithaa honoured the awardee Jothimani Gowthaman at Fort St George in Chennai.
The award carries a cheque for Rs five lakh, a gold coated medal worth Rs 5,000 and a citation.
"Scarcity of drivers for long distance, heavy cargo trucks is among the reasons that prompted me to take up the job," Jothimani told PTI.
Her husband Gowthaman is a truck driver and it was he who encouraged her to take up the job. The couple, natives of Erode district, own a 10 wheeled heavy cargo truck bought on a loan from a vehicle financing firm. They often take turns to drive the truck.
"I have driven over 55,000 kilometers. Often I have ferried cargo to Gujarat in it. For six years, I traveled with my husband in our truck ferrying long distance consignments and it was kind of a field training, complete with practical tips," Jothimani said.
She said she took the plunge in 2014 when she got a heavy driver's licence and began driving alone. On being asked what challenges she faced in a male dominated field, she said, "what challenges? I don't see any challenges, things are going on normally."
On the arduous journeys on highways involving continuous driving for weeks together, she said, "the job is the same, women too should adapt to the situation." The couple has a son Monick Subash and a daughter Vijaya Banu.
Jayalalithaa also gave away the first Dr APJ Abdul Kalam award to ISRO woman scientist N Valarmathi. It comprises an eight gram gold medal, Rs five lakh cheque and a citation.
The Chief Minister had instituted the award in Dr Kalam's name after the former President's demise last month.
The annual award is for a person from Tamil Nadu striving for scientific advancement, humanities or students welfare.
Ms Valarmathi was conferred the award as she was responsible for India's first indigenously developed Radar Imaging Satellite RISAT-1, launched in 2012.
A native of Ariyalur district and an alumni of state-run Anna University in Chennai, Ms Valarmathi said that by honouring her, Tamil Nadu government has honoured ISRO.
"I dedicate the award to ISRO, I thank the government for the award," she said.