In a shattering of glass ceiling of sorts, Veeralakshmi from Tamil Nadu became the country’s first female ambulance driver and joined the force with the release of the new fleet of “108” ambulances by the Tamil Nadu State Government.
Talking about this, Veeralakshmi, who now has the opportunity to work as a 108 ambulance driver, said that her dream of working as an ambulance driver for a long time has now come true. She also said that this gives her a lot of joy in addition to instilling hope amongst those who aspire to be like her.
Veeralakshmi hails from Bodinayakkanur in Theni district. She lives with her husband and two children in Tiruvottiyur in Chennai. She has been driving cars with her husband for quite some time now, but, becoming an ambulance driver has been something she has always dreamed of, she said.
After the coronavirus lockdown had been imposed, Veeralakshmi had applied for the position of an ambulance driver, and later, got the job. She has taken several hundred patients to the hospital in her ambulance for the past one month, including those who have been confirmed to have corona infection.
Ninety ambulances equipped with life-saving medical equipment, 10 high tech vehicles for use by 10 government blood banks for transporting blood collected in camps and 18 ambulances donated by an entertainment television channel group for anti-COVID tasks were flagged off. These were launched by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisami on Monday, who announced that 500 new ambulances will be dedicated to the state at a cost of about ₹ 125 crores.