Women drivers give Rajnath Singh, Yogi Adityanath inaugural Lucknow Metro ride

Pic Courtesy: IANS

Lucknow: Two women loco pilots Pooja and Priyanka on Tuesday gave Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath a ride on Lucknow Metro on its inaugural run in the city.

The two leaders, accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik, earlier purchased the Go Smart card to board the train, which ran from Transport Nagar to Charbagh. 

The women loco pilots are among the 19 women who have been recruited by Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) to drive its trains. In all, there are 97 posts of train operators.

Former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, sources said, had told the LMRC officials that they should try and give a fair share to women in the dream project. As many as 3,827 women had applied for the posts of train operators. 

The first trial run of Lucknow Metro was held on December 1, 2016 and the then Samajwadi Party (SP) government had awarded the pilot duo with the prestigious Rani Laxmi Bai award.