In the village of Kotkonda, about 20 km from Narayanpet Town in Telangana, a stable of a sewing machine once defined the life of Sealam Chandrakala. She stitching clothes for a small income, while her husband’s wages barely saved the family as a mason. The only piece of land collided with a young son at school and by his brother -in -law, left very few space for dreams to survive.
In Narayanpet district, it is known for its handloom sarees, but also its poverty, women are expected to limit themselves to sewing, field labor or odd jobs. Some traditional men will dare to imagine step into strongholds. But six months ago, members of Chandrakala and a handful of Self-Hold Group (SHG) did so much-rewrite the script for the district and the district.
He started working at a fuel station – Telangana’s first woman powered by petrol bunkFirst, customers openly doubted. Some people jokingly ask, “Do you really manage this petrol pump?” While others announced that women do not last long, as it was a “work of a man”. But what started in doubt has turned into disregard and success story since then. Today, six months later, 31 -year -old Chandrakala manages the Narayanpet filling station which has not only survived, but also ended.
Her personal journey is proof of whether determination and collective power can be achieved. Her husband continued her masonry work, earned between ₹ 15,000 and ₹ 20,000 per month, while she takes 18,000 salary as fuel station manager. Together, they rented a modest house close to the pump, allowing their son to continue education without any interruption. “With this job, we are leading a comfortable life,” she says.
Fuel station is a historical achievement. Established by District Mahaila Salakya (ZMS), it is the first in the country to be managed by a women’s federation. Located on Singaram X Road in Narayanpet, about 160 km from the state capital Hyderabad, the ZMS petrol pump is a point of curiosity and pride today. Chief Minister A. on 21 February this year. Inaugurated by Revantha Reddy, it has already recorded a profit of ₹ 13.82 lakh in its first six months of operation.
The idea route last year when Collector Koya Mr. Harsha attended a ZMS Executive Council meeting. “He asked if we are running any big units. When we said, he suggested a petrol pump. We easily agreed. Later, he asked whether government land is available. We proposed the site next to the DRDA office. Similarly we were assigned to run fuel station,” Chandrakala remembers. ”
At the time, she was serving as the Chairman of the ZMS, in 2013, after joining a self-help group under the government’s Society for Rural Poverty (SERP) in 2013, a position for three years that she had held for three years and was continuously growing through the ranks of the Federation.
For him, the task was not only about running a business, but also to prove a point. “For those who ridiculed us, we wanted to show that we can succeed. Today we are managing petrol pumps and also making employment for other SHG women,” she says.
Live in those women. Sony, 28, a sky-blue and yellow uniform sports coats, as it operates the dispenser, reproachs the fuel tank, brightens the QR code and goes to the next customer with the efficiency of the practice. Exactly a year ago, she was working in a field in Vallampali village near Narayanpet as a daily wage laborer, earning ₹ 400 to ₹ 500 per day.
Coming from a Dalit family of Farmhends, his father forced to go to Mumbai for better livelihood opportunities, Sony’s life has been one of the struggle. “Now my fate has changed. I have a stable job and a good income in this small town,” she says.
There is another ch. Sunita of Pallala village, who once raised slogans as a private school teacher for a palate salary of ₹ 5,000. “I used to work for a long time for almost nothing. Now I earn ₹ 13,000 per month. I actually enjoy interacting with a variety of people at the fuel station,” a 24 -year -old Hiling of the backward classes community has held an intermediate degree. Married to a small farmer with a hectare and Sunita’s job at the fuel station with two children in class 3 and 4 has given her family financial breathing place and new confidence.
Collective power
Strengthens their story, there is a collective engine behind it. The ZMS Federation is on a large scale in itself, including 8,196 self-help groups with over 91,000 female members. The petrol station project was set up with the investment of 1.3 crore, including the IN 1.5 million for infrastructure, which was at ₹ 10,000 per month under a 20 -year lease agreement with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL).
Before taking charge of women, seven senior members were trained as managers and sales staff in the bank installed in Jadcharla (Mahabubnagar district) and Shadnagar (Rangardi district), ensuring that they would step into the prepared. Performance is reviewed every 15 days by the District Collector, a system that not only instills confidence among women, but also guarantees transparency and accountability.
Narayanpet with members of Dado Mogulappa and petrol station manager Celam Chandrakala Staff. , Photo Credit: Ramakrishna ji.
The fuel station has 11 employees, out of which seven women are from SHG. To run round-the-clock, four people are hired for night shift. According to the 2011 census, with a population of 41,752, Narayanpet Town itself has five other filling stations, but there is no one with the same impact or symbolism.
Chandrakala says, “We are selling about 4,000 liters of petrol and 6,000 liters of diesel every day. Six women working as sales staff earns 13,200 per month, while I, as manager, receive 18,000. The salary is paid by the Federation.” First generation graduates with BA through an open university, she says that financial obstacles stopped her from attending a regular college.
For women’s collective, petrol bunk is more than a livelihood source; It has become a symbol of recognition. “With this station, our Narayanpet ZM has gained visibility and respect. People from different places are calling us after watching our work in the media,” Federation President S. Arundati says, who runs a ladies corner. She expects to add more commercial units at the filling station with the support of SERP.
District Rural Development Officer Mogulappa says that Narayanpet experiment is serving as a model, and two more pumps are coming – one in Kosi and the other in Matel. “We are also planning to install one-megavot solar units on both sites. Since the female components of the recession of Kosgi Mandal already have seven acres of land, it will be easy to install both solar unit and petrol bunk,” they explain.
Expand the horizon
A similar initiative has started taking root somewhere else. In Sangredi, a partnership with the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) has enabled local ZMS to earn 4-5 lakhs per month. Encouraged by such successes, SERP is now planning to roll out fuel stations and EV charging facilities in rural districts. Under the state’s leading Indira Mahila Shakti (IMS) scheme.
Petrol bunk employees perform fuel dispensing. , Photo Credit: Ramakrishna ji.
SERP CEO Divya Devarajan says that women groups represent “a wonderful network of organized poor”, unlike anything to be seen elsewhere. She says that many members who once managed small grocery shops, sewing units or beauty salons are now running petrol stations efficiently. “Under the women’s power policy, we want women’s SHG associations to manage more petrol stations for economic freedom,” she says, saying that two state -of -the -art fuel stations are on one acre of land in Nalgonda and Vanaparthi.
Designed as multipurpose complexes, model stations will not only provide employment to at least six women, but will host supermarkets, coffee shops and EV charging facilities, which will create more opportunities for SHG members.
“We are planning to install such fuel stations in a phased manner under IMS with public sector oil companies in all districts of rural Telangana, two already running,” she claims.
Currently, 46.84 lakh members have been included in the SERP network 4.43 lakh SHGs, 18,000 gram organizations, 553 Mandal Women’s Samkhya and 32 District Mahailla Samadhakas. Its targeted intervention in fuel retailing represents more than incremental progress – they mark a huge jump for women that step into a business that has long been preserved.
While the modest number may make them look like tokenism, women-managed retail shops of public sector oil marketing companies-IOCL, BPCL and Hindustan Petroleum-have been re-shaping the sector again. Throughout India, 19 petrol pumps are specially run by women, including two managed by SHG in Telangana.
Oil companies themselves are eager to expand such models, in which women are not only running shows, but also handling day-to-day dispensing operations. Their discipline, organizational skills, and the ability to manage pressure situations make them a natural fit for high-dot, customer-honor business. An official of a national oil company said, “Turnarounds in outlets managed by women are rapid. Since customers often associate male hostesses with irregularities, female employees enjoy more and more confidence,” a national oil company official said, saying, requesting oblivion.
The IMS program is already widening its canvas beyond fuel retailing, saying Devarajan, “Our SHG women will soon be entering solar energy.” A memorandum signed in last November with state power utilities has envisaged SHGS and their associations, which install solar plants in districts. Telangana plans to generate 1,000 MW through these projects, as well as promote livelihood, strengthen energy security and contribute to India’s non-Givash fuel targets for 2030.
An employee of the petrol bunk dispensing fuel operated by the first woman of Telangana
In the first phase, eight acres of land has been identified in each district for the installation of 2MW solar units, with low-onion loans being pursued to reduce the repayment burden.
Mammakhya, the Mamkhya of Kosgi Mandal of Narayanpet, will be the first to roll such a solar project, Mogulppa confirmed. SERP Director (Non-Form), PW Johnson says that the land has already been identified in almost every district for proposed solar units.
Full-cycle vision of change
Federations are also bringing diversity in transport. In Phase I, Mandal-level associations have leased 151 buses to Telangana State Road Transport Corporation, in which. An investment of 54.36 crores is included. Earlier this year, the state cleared the way for the purchase of another 600 buses for the Mandal Women’s Communication units, each of which is the cost of 36 lakhs.
Food-based enterprises are gaining equal speed. Under the IMS canteen initiative, 220 canteens have already been installed in Telangana, each producing an average monthly benefit of ₹ 72,000 and provides employment to four to five SHG members.
Paralellly, the SERP is running the ramp (MSME to increase and accelerates and accelerates), which aims to enable 1,500 SHGs to grow in full micro, small and medium enterprises to broaden the horizon of rural women.
Panchayat Raj, Rural Development and Women and Child Welfare Minister D. For Anasuya aka Setaka, such an initiative reflects the spirit of progress and opportunity. IMS Petrol Pump, according to them, have become “Power Centers of Women Empowerment”.
In each liter of petrol, and in every new business enterprise inspired by their success, the wave effect of this change is only the beginning.
(Additional reporting by N. Ravi Kumar)
