After being a taxi driver for three years, 30-year-old Veeralakshmi Muthukumar is now behind the wheel of an ambulance, becoming the first woman pilot in the 108 ambulance fleet in the State.
As Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami flagged off new 108 ambulances on Monday, the day marked the beginning of a new journey for Ms. Veeralakshmi.
“In fact, I did not know I was the first woman ambulance pilot until I joined today,” she said.
Starting to drive four-wheelers in 2015 after obtaining a driving licence, she drove a taxi around the city for three years until she realised that she wanted to do more.
No road fear
“Being a driver, I have no fear of the road. But I did not want to drive only for the sake of income. I wanted to serve people in some way, and hence wanted to become an ambulance driver,” she added. Following this, she underwent training from June. Familiar with the traffic congestion in the city, one of the main concerns for her was maintaining speed while transporting a patient.
“This is all about the golden hour. But I was told not to fear and that the emergency medical technician will be there and take care of the patient. All that I needed to do is to be careful and handle the pressure,” she said.
The mother of two children believes in following rules to the letter. “Accidents occur because of negligence and because rules are not followed. I can handle this because I know the importance of following road rules and as an ambulance driver, I will pay attention to the road,” she said.
M. Selvakumar, State head of operations, GVK-EMRI, which operates the 108 ambulance network, said there were one or two women ambulance drivers in the private sector but Ms. Veeralakshmi was the first woman pilot in the 108 ambulance network.
