Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government rolled out a tableau on the theme “Women in the Transport Sector” at Mahatma Gandhi Marg in Bhubaneswar during the state-level Republic Day celebrations on Monday. The tableau focused on “Nari Shakti” and offered a glimpse into the trailblazing journey of a woman locomotive pilot from Sundargarh.
Defying stereotypes, poverty, and other setbacks in life, 41-year-old Munni Tigga of Hatibari village in Sundargarh district has been serving as a freight train driver for the last 14 years.
Belonging to a farming family, Tigga topped her batch in 2002 while studying at Kumjharia Girls’ High School. Struggling financially to meet the basic needs of seven children, including Tigga, her father expressed his inability to support her higher education.
Disheartened, Tigga began assisting her father in farming on their small plot of land. As the family’s financial condition did not improve, she started working as a labourer in a private factory located about 13–14 km away from her home.
Tigga recalled how her mother would wake her up at 2 am every day, and she would leave for work on a bicycle an hour later. Despite the lack of proper road access, she displayed remarkable courage, attended work regularly, and returned home late in the evening.
While this monotonous routine continued, Tigga visited her elder sister’s house in Rourkela in 2004. During her stay, she noticed that one of her school friends was pursuing college education there.
Dejected at not being able to continue her studies, Tigga took admission in Plus II Science at SG Women’s College in Rourkela. She joined the college with renewed aspirations in 2004, but her dreams were shattered when she failed the examinations two years later due to personal reasons.
As she was going through an overwhelming sense of grief, a group of students living near her sister’s house in Rourkela—who were preparing for competitive examinations—encouraged her not to quit. They suggested that Tigga appear for railway examinations.
Determined to succeed, Tigga’s life took a positive turn when she gained admission to a government ITI college in Bargarh in 2006. From there, there was no turning back. After completing the course, she appeared for railway examinations in different zones.
Her hard work paid off when she cleared the railway examination and joined the service as an assistant loco pilot in November 2011. She was promoted to loco pilot in 2016. Tigga got married in 2013, and the couple has a son and a daughter.
“Providing education to my children is my top priority, and I would love to see both of them grow into independent individuals,” said Tigga, who currently operates a goods train from Palasa in Andhra Pradesh to Khurda. She added that every woman should pursue her dreams and not bow down to societal pressures.
