In Kotakonda village, about 20 km from Telangana’s Narayanpet town, the steady hum of a sewing machine once defined Seelam Chandrakala’s life. She stitched clothes for a meagre income while her husband’s wages as a mason barely kept the family afloat. With a young son in school and their only piece of land tilled by her brother-in-law, survival left little room for dreams.
In Narayanpet district, known for its handloom sarees but also its poverty, women are expected to limit themselves to tailoring, farm labour or odd jobs. Few would dare to imagine stepping into traditional male bastions. But six months ago, Chandrakala and a handful of self-help group (SHG) members did just that — rewriting the script for themselves and for the district.
They started working at a fuel station — Telangana’s first women-run petrol bunk. At first, customers were openly skeptical. Some would ask mockingly, “Do you really manage this petrol pump?” while others declared that the women wouldn’t last long, since it was “a man’s job”. But what began in doubt has since turned into a story of defiance and success. Today, six months later, Chandrakala, 31, manages the Narayanpet filling station that has not only survived but thrived.
