New Delhi, Oct. 26 -- The meeting of an administrator and a woman public transport professional offered a people-focused perspective on Odisha's urban mobility plans at the 19th Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference and Exhibition in Bhubaneswar. Smt. Usha Padhee, Additional Chief Secretary, Housing & Urban Development Department, met Subhalaxmi Mahananda, Odisha's first woman electric-bus driver from Keonjhar district, during the event.

Mahananda drives an electric Ama Bus, and her journey reflects the opportunities that can emerge when institutional support is matched by individual initiative. The interaction also highlighted the significance of making transport-sector careers accessible to women, including roles that have traditionall...