india

Updated: Aug 08, 2019 19:38 IST

Bipasha Hrankhawl was hardly ten years old when she was fascinated with a television show called ‘Air Crash Investigation’ that aired on National Geographic channel. Several years down the line, she has become Tripura’s first woman Air Traffic Controller (ATC).

After earning her bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Telecommunications engineering from the Konkan Gyanpeeth College of Engineering in Maharashtra in 2015, Bipasha worked as a marketing executive in a finance company for a brief period. Later, she left the job to prepare for different competitive examinations.

“It was my father who wanted me to join the aviation sector, when I used to watch Air Crash Investigation at home. I was strongly attracted to the show then. Finally, his dream came true, though it was not an easy task to crack the exam. I first appeared for the exam in 2015 and I cleared it in my second attempt in the consecutive year,” the 26-year-old Bipasha said in an interview at the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in Agartala.

After clearing the examination, she got her first posting in the Mumbai airport as an assistant ATC in 2017 where she worked for seven months. She was immersed in learning the procedures in her dream job when her father’s sudden brain haemorrhage last year forced her to return to Agartala. Her father Bijoy Kumar Hrankhawl, 51, was with the Power Department.

“It was really tough for me to continue my job in Mumbai and managing my father’s treatment in Kolkata simultaneously. Considering his ill health, I applied for a transfer to Agartala and luckily, the Mumbai authorities released me from there. I joined the MBB airport last year. I hope, my father, though he can’t speak now, understands that I made his dream come true,” she said.

Emerging as the first woman ATC of the state, Bipasha believes that if one is determined about their dream, they could surely reach their destination despite facing hurdles. “Failures will come to us when we try to chase our dream. But, one should not give up mid-way,” she said after mentioning that she had hardly cleared four-five examinations of the total 20 different competitive exams.

Apart from her job and spending quality time with her family, Bipasha loves to spend time with street dogs.

Born in Rangamura in Khowai district, a remote village that is located nearly 50 kilometres from the capital city, Bipasha did her kindergarten there. Her father’s transfer brought them to Agartala in 2002 and she completed her entire schooling from Don Bosco School.

Her mother Swapna Hrankhawl, 48 is a homemaker and her sibling Rimi Hrankhawl, 23, an English graduate is now looking for admission in a B.Ed course in the state.

SD Barman, in-charge of ATC feels proud of Bipasha due to her good performance. “She is a good controller. She is well aware of all procedures. I wish her all the best for future,” he said.

Praising Bipasha, Director of MBB airport VK Seth said, “She is good at her job and I wish she joins big airports in New Delhi and Mumbai in future for much more exposure.”