#GoodNews: Bipasha Hrangkhawl Becomes Tripura’s First Woman ATC

Bipasha Hrangkhawl is breaking the glass ceiling by becoming Tripura’s first woman ATC.

(Photo Courtesy: @PradyotManikya/Twitter)

Bipasha Hrangkhawl's ambition began at the age of ten when she used to watch the popular Nat Geo documentary series 'Air Crash Investigation' on television with her father.

Now, her dream has come true as she has become Tripura's first woman Air Traffic Controller.

Bipasha, 26, hails from Rangamura village, a distant tribal hamlet in Khowai district, 50 km from Agartala. Though she hailed from a small village, her family took her education seriously and admitted her in one of the few best schools in Tripura.

She got to study in several missionary schools at Khowai, Dhalai and West Tripura districts, as her father Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl, 51, was an employee of the state Power Department and had a transferable job.

Bipasha completed her graduation from Konkan Gyanpith College of Engineering at Maharashtra, where she earned her Bachelor in Engineering (BE) degree in Electronics and Telecommunications.

Speaking to The Indian Express, she said, "Air Traffic Controllers are those who always work behind the scenes, ensuring safety of thousands of people who travel with the faith that we are watching them. I didn’t know what is an ATC. I saw it in the TV show ‘Air Crash Investigations’ with my father. He always inspired me to take up a job as Air Traffic Controller with the Airports Authority of India (AAI)."

Right after her graduation, Bipasha struggled for her first job opportunity. Then, she landed a job at Mutha Industries Private Limited as a market executive. Realising that her dream of becoming an air traffic controller might slip away from her hands, she quit her job after working for ten months in August 2016.

Second Time’s the Charm

However, she failed to clear the ATC examination in her first attempt in 2015. The big breakthrough came only in December 2017, when she managed to crack the exam in her second exam.

She joined as an assistant Air Traffic Controller or Alha controller at Chhatrapati Shivaji Internaiontal Airport in Mumbai and served there for seven months.

(With inputs from The Indian Express)