UPDATE: A fact check done by boomlive confirms that 24 year old Pratiksha Das IS NOT the city's first female bus driver and that she'd only taken a course on bus driving. She is not employed by BEST as a bus driver. The Mumbai BEST bu service has a course in driving not just for their own drivers but also private individuals on how to drive a bus.

“Das applied as a private individual and even paid the required fee to train how to drive a bus. She did not show any interest in becoming a driver with us nor did we approach her to be an employee,” Hanumant Gophane, the public relations officer told Boomlive.

BCCL

Meet, Pratiksha Das, the girl who can navigate her way through pothole filled roads, very gracefully on a BEST public bus. Das had taken up a course in driving a bus with BEST.

According to a TOI report, the 24-year-old Das just completed her mechanical engineering degree from Thakur College in Malad.

Expressing her love for heavy vehicles she said, “It is something I’ve wanted to master for the last six years. But my love for heavy vehicles is not new. I started off with bikes, then larger cars and now, I can drive buses and trucks. And yes it feels good.”

At the young age of 24, where every other girl likes to hang out with friends, watch movies, go shopping and visit the salon, Patiksha priorities are nothing like the rest.

For her, driving around a six-tonne heavy bus around the city is a ‘leisure activity’ - the best way to unwind.

“After completing my engineering degree, I was planning to become an RTO officer. For that, I needed a license in heavy vehicles as it is compulsory. Since I had wanted to learn to drive a bus, it was perfect."

"In fact, I want to drive various vehicles on the road. I started with my mama’s bike when I was in 8th grade in my village. Even he was surprised, how I learned driving within 2 days,” she said in her interview with Times Of India.

BCCL

In the interview, Pratiksha spoke about her first training drill with BEST drivers who were all doubtful about her skill. She spoke about people throwing remarks like.'Yeh ladki Chala Paaygi Ke Nahi?’, to some mocking her height saying she was too short to ride a bus.

Talking about the challenges she faced, she said, “People use to stop and turn when they saw a young woman behind the staring wheel. Keeping my focus clear, I ignored the stares.”

Besides this, turning and changing lanes was pretty challenging for her. But she managed to acquire the requisite skills in no time.

Pratiksha proved everyone wrong with the ease with which she drove the bus. She went on to say that women who set their mind on something can make anything possible, it's all about will and determination.

She sais, "I dreamt and here I am. In fact, anyone can achieve their goals, they just have to set their minds to it."

The next thing on her bucket list is ‘a bike trip to Ladakh‘, she said, “It’s every biker’s delight to ride that route. It’ a mixed group and guess what, a lady is going to lead the gang!”