Tag Archives: Reshma Nilofer Naha – Kolkota Port Trust

Woman conquers river and gender hurdle

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Chennai, TAMIL NADU / Kolkata, WEST BENGAL :

As a river pilot, Naha’s work is to guide ships from Sagar right up to the Calcutta and Haldia ports through the meandering Hooghly

Reshma Nilofer Naha, India’s first woman river pilot, with Vinit Kumar, chairman, Calcutta Port Trust, at ICCR on Monday. Picture Bishwarup Dutta
Reshma Nilofer Naha, India’s first woman river pilot, with Vinit Kumar, chairman, Calcutta Port Trust, at ICCR on Monday.
Picture Bishwarup Dutta

Reshma Nilofer Naha goes to the high sea on a small boat, climbs on to a large vessel with a rope ladder and enjoys it.

India’s first “river pilot” was felicitated at a women’s day programme hosted by the Calcutta Port Trust on Monday, having returned from Delhi where she received the Nari Shakti Puraskar from President Ram Nath Kovind.

As a river pilot, Naha’s work is to guide ships from Sagar right up to the Calcutta and Haldia ports through the meandering Hooghly, something she has been doing “efficiently and professionally”.

“If you think there are no boundaries then you think everything is possible. There is no glass ceiling. It is just an imaginary concept we all have heard for many many years,” Naha, 30, said during a panel discussion on Challenges: Work and Life.

A BE in marine technology, Naha said she had been keen on an offbeat career ever since she was a child. The Chennai woman joined the Calcutta Port Trust in 2011 as a trainee pilot and qualified as a river pilot in 2018.

“It is a great feeling (to be the only woman river pilot) on one hand but on the other hand I would like to have other female colleagues very soon and I look forward to it. I think my story will inspire more women to get in here,” she said.

Naha said navigating the Hooghly is tough because of “bends and narrow channels” where the depth of the water is a concern. “We have different kinds of ships and each ship behaves differently. The tides are strong here… and all this makes pilotage tough,” she said, recalling how she had to once anchor for four days because of bad weather and strong winds.

“It is a proud moment for the Calcutta Port Trust to have India’s first lady river pilot with us…,” said Vinit Kumar, chairman, Calcutta Port Trust, who felicitated her.

“It is a long treacherous journey she has undertaken. To be a first in anything is always a challenge because the infrastructure, the attitudes, the systems are not very friendly or they are made with keeping only men in mind…. So the struggle of the first person is always more than those who follow,” Kumar said.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, online edition / Home> West Bengal / by Jhinuk Mazumdar and Cordelia Nelson in Calcutta / March 12th, 2019

44 women chosen for Nari Shakti Puraskar-2018

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Chennai, TAMIL NADU / Kolkata, WEST BENGAL :

Other awardees included spiritual leader Sister Shivani, commando trainer Seema Rao and the only woman marine pilot in India, Reshma Nilofar Naha.

President Ram Nath Kovind with recipients of ‘Nari Shakti Puraskar-2018’ at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi on Friday.| PTI
President Ram Nath Kovind with recipients of ‘Nari Shakti Puraskar-2018’ at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi on Friday.| PTI

New Delhi :

President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday presented the Nari Shakti Puraskar 2018, the highest civilian honour for women, on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

Among 44 awardees selected out of around 1,000 nominations received by the Women and Child Development Ministry were names such as scientists A Seema and Ipsita Biswas, Doordarshan News anchor Neelum Sharma, acid attack survivor Pragya Prasun, radio music composer Madhuri Barthwal and activist Manju Manikuttan.

Other awardees included spiritual leader Sister Shivani, commando trainer Seema Rao and the only woman marine pilot in India, Reshma Nilofar Naha.

“The awardees are a face of change, reflecting a shift in the status of women, from women development to women-led development,” said WCD Minister Maneka Gandhi adding, “No field has been left untouched, where women have not left their indelible mark, making women the leading force of our development trajectory,” she added.

A statement by the ministry said that while making the selection from the nominations,  the nominee’s contributions in empowering vulnerable and marginalised women was taken into account.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Nation / by Express News Service / March 09th, 2019

First woman river pilot to start guiding ships soon

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Transport, World Opinion, , , , ,

Chennai, TAMIL NADU / Kolkata, WEST BENGAL :

Reshma Nilofer Naha
Reshma Nilofer Naha

Kolkata :

After six months, Reshma Nilofer Naha  will be piloting ships from sea to the Kolkata port.

She will be the world’s first woman river pilot to do this. She will pilot ships through a distance of 223km, of which, 148km will be up the Hooghly – considered to be one of the most treacherous with its sharp ‘bars and bends’. Reshma, originally from Chennai, is now undergoing training at the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT).
“The role of river pilots is crucial as they have knowledge of the river and can guide the ships into port. We have 67 river pilots in service and Reshma will start her job soon,” KoPT chairman Vinit Kumar said.

Reshma, a BSc (Nautical Science) graduate, was recruited by KoPT in 2011. According to JJ Biswas, director, marine department, KoPT, she also has a year’s experience at sea as a cadet. “After joining KoPT, she obtained the 2nd and 1st mates competency certificates from the Directorate General of Shipping. Recently, she cleared the Grade III Part-I examination from KoPT. In the next six months, she will qualify as a Grade III pilot,” he added.

As a Grade III pilot, Reshma will initially be assigned smaller vessels. Later, as she gets more experienced, she will graduate to Grade II and Grade I and take charge of large ships like Panamax vessels – nearly 300m-long with a capacity of 70,000 tonnes or more.

All ships calling on the ports of Kolkata or Haldia have to contact the pilot station on Sagar Island when they approach the Sandheads. From the Sandheads to the pilot boarding point at Sagar, remote pilotage is provided to the ships using Vessel Traffic Management System guidance. At a spot known as Middleton Point, a pilot vessel rendezvous with a ship and the pilot gets on board. The pilot is in charge till the ship reaches Kolkata and the harbour pilot takes over.

“The river has several sandbars and bends. A river pilot knows the channel along which the ship has to move to avoid getting stranded. Draught is also a problem and there is little scope of manoeuvring. The pilots make best use of the tides to guide ships in. People without training and experience along the river cannot handle ships,” another official said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Kolkata News / by Jayanta Gupta / TNN / April 05th, 2018