KOLKATA: Kalpana, the 19-year-old girl, who started driving a bus to help her ailing father, is now the owner of the vehicle, courtesy an organization of LIC officers, called Insurance Care, that has helped the family pay off the remaining amount of the bus price.
The bus that ferries passengers on Route 34 C, between Esplanade and Nawpara, was bought by Kalpana’s family for Rs, 4,40,000 and they have been paying the amount to its owner in monthly instalments. They had paid Rs 2 lakh, but the remaining amount was due. An official of Insurance Care said after reading about Kalpana in a TOI report on April 16, they decided to help out the girl.
“We collected her phone number from Dharmatola bus stand and went to the Noapara bus stand to pay Rs 2,40,000 to the girl. Now, she is the official owner of the bus,” the official said.
The official added that they believed India needed a girl like Kalpana—bold, dynamic and enterprising. “She is an inspiration to women to become financially independent. Our future generations have a lot to learn from her courage and fight. Kalpana has shown the grit and determination to survive tough situations,” the official added.
Kalapana had started driving a goods vehicle, which her father drove till he met with an accident in 2015. Later, she also started driving the bus which his father drove. Ever since they took over the bus from its earlier owner, Kalapana has been driving it, while her father has been the conductor and her mother has been accompanying them on the trips, helping them out.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/19-year-old-girl-now-owns-the-bus-she-drives/articleshow/91135969.cms
