Maharashtra may start aviation courses for tribals

Mumbai: Overwhelmed by the response to its programme of training 100 tribal girls for an airhostess course, the state is considering the introduction of full-fledged aviation related courses in its Industrial Training Institute (ITI).

“Of the 100 tribal girls selected by the Maharashtra government for airhostess training, 64 of them have joined the aviation sector, while the remaining 36 girls have conveyed to the administration that they are not willing to join the services. The file proposing to start such a syllabus is pending with chief minister Prithviraj Chavan’s office,” Babanrao Pachpute, tribal development minister, said in the state legislative council on Monday. Pachpute was replying to a query raised during the question hour session in the council. The query was raised by leaders of the Opposition, Vinod Tawde, and council member Sanjay Kelkar (both BJP).
Participating in the debate, Tawde said that private aviation institutes are charging huge amounts for the courses they offer. “The government should start these courses in its ITI, so that students from rural areas can take the benefit of it,” said Tawde.
10/04/12 Sanjeev Shivadekar/Times of India