Conjoined twins secure their ‘dream job’ at Indian power firm

Sohna and Mohna Singh (19) were this week appointed supervisors in Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) after growing up in an institution for children from impoverished families.

“It’s a dream job. We are thankful to the Punjab government for recognising our talent,” said Sohna, who has a diploma in electronics.

They will each be paid 10,000 rupees (€117) a month for the work, although the job is in Sohna’s name. The twins will be working in the supply control room and looking after the electrical appliances, officials said.

They were born in 2003 in New Delhi and have two hearts, two pairs of arms, kidneys and spinal cords, but a single liver, gallbladder, spleen and one pair of legs.

Doctors refused to separate them, fearing one of the twins would die and that the surviving child would have long-term health problems.

They were abandoned by their parents at just two months old and taken in by the Pingalwara Charitable Society on the outskirts of Amritsar in Punjab.

Their teachers at the institution found they easily took to repairing electrical appliances.

“They would always try to fix all minor problems related to electricity and electronic appliances in the institution,” a teacher said.

The twins took the diploma in electrical studies after acquiring their Secondary School Certificate.

They have been trained in wiring, repairing household appliances, solar power, electrical circuits and breakers.

Sohna and Mohna came to the attention of the PSPCL after officials saw them at work on a visit to a training college.

“We found them technically sound and knowing the job well, so we decided to recruit them under the disabled person quota on compassionate grounds,” said Venu Parsad, chief managing director of the PSPCL.