First woman tunnel engineer of India

First woman tunnel engineer of India

Bengalure: Annie Sinha Roy is the first woman tunnel engineer of the country. She alone steered Godavari, the tunnelboring machine that recently finished boring underground from Sampige Road to Majestic. She called it her tunnel because the machine had got damaged just when she joined as assistant engineer in Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) in May 2015. After that, she used to spend eight hours in the tunnel every day. "Sometimes when people see me with the helmet and jacket and learn that I work for Namma Metro, they would only ask when the work will get over," she says. 

Recalling her long journey, she said she wanted to pursue her masters after completing degree in mechanical engineering from Nagpur University.

She first joined Delhi Metro. “She must be a visitor." That's the murmur she heard when Annie walked into the construction site of Delhi Metro on the first day of her job. "There were about 100 men, most of them labourers and a few engineers. They thought I would not last long. There were no toilets, no place to sit and debris all around," the country's first and only woman tunnel engineer recalled during the inauguration of Namma Metro Tunnel Route in Bangalore on Friday, 29^th April, 2016. Chief Minister of Karnatka Siddaramiah inaguated the Tunnel Rout of Metro. Union Minister was present.

Tunnelling is my life, experience utmost joy in it, she says.