Telangana spotlight: Women blast through the mining barriers

From handling explosives and repairing heavy mining equipment to supervising underground operations and training to drive 100-tonne dumpers, women at State-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited are moving into jobs long considered a male preserve after amendments to the Mines Act helped open up these opportunities to them. However, challenges remain, including workplace safety, gender bias and physical demands of such roles, writes P. Laxma Reddy