Category Archives: Transport

Bengaluru had its first date with air show a century ago

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Sports, Transport, Travel & Tourism, World Opinion, , , , , , ,

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Bengaluru had its first date with an air show 106 years ago
  • In 1911, Jules Wyck and Belgian adventurer Baron Pierre De Caters were the two pilots who brought their aircraft to Bengaluru

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Bengaluru :

As the curtains were drawn on the 11th edition of Aero India on Saturday, thousands who thronged the Yelahanka Air Force Station need to know that they are not the first patrons of such a show. In fact, they are not even the first generation.

Bengaluru, India’s aviation capital, had its first date with an air show 106 years ago. February 3, 1911. Cricket hadn’t become the religion it is today in India. The Chinnaswamy Stadium was a barren land, and parts of Bengaluru were still a functional cantonment.

While people from districts neighbouring Bengaluru had made their way back then to catch what the organizers had called a “miracle in the skies,” Bengaluru’s quest for the flying machines remained intact in 2017 with at least three lakh people reported to have visited the aero show.

In 1911, Jules Wyck and Belgian adventurer Baron Pierre De Caters were the two pilots who brought their aircraft to Bengaluru, for a show that garnered a huge response. “But police had been prepared to handle the crowd here, after things had gotten slightly out of hand in Kolkata,” historian Vemagal Somashekar said.

If the elaborate preparations of the organizers a century ago are any indication then it only shows that a lacklustre event, like the 2017 edition of Aero India — just 53 aircraft on display and four aerobatic display teams — may fail to garner similar response in the coming years.

(The poster in Urdu, issued by merchants and businessmen from the Baidwadi (present day Shivajinagar) area. Photo Credit: fly.historicwings.com)
(The poster in Urdu, issued by merchants and businessmen from the Baidwadi (present day Shivajinagar) area. Photo Credit: fly.historicwings.com)

The fact that organizers did not reveal the right number of aircraft at Aero India 2017 is an indication that even they know it. When TOI enquired about the details of the show and the preparations in the run-up to the show, Mayaskar Deo Singh, director, Defence Exhibition Organisation, the nodal government agency organizing the show said: “An official release with final numbers on participation and other details will be issued so that there is no confusion.”

The official release days before the show had claimed that the number of aircraft participating would be 72, as many as the 2015 show, rated much better, had seen. Answering a specific question, defence minister Manohar Parrikar, however, had said on February 14: “There are 53 aircraft participating…”

Also, there are ways to watch the show for free, hundreds of citizens who stood with their cameras on terraces, the highway, some even got hospitality at villages around the air base.

But organizers in 1911 had figured out a plan for such free viewers. A poster in Urdu, issued by merchants and businessmen from the Baidwadi (present day Shivajinagar) area, reveals that the organizers, who had learnt that people would not buy tickets as they thought planes could be spotted even otherwise, had organized the show in such a way that only those with tickets (worth 25 paise each) had a one-hour exclusive.

“…Between 3.30pm and 4.30pm the planes will fly at a height of just 30 metre which only the ticket holders can see. For a few minutes after 4.30pm, the planes will fly a little higher,” reads a translation of the poster documented by the state archives department.

Mustafa Khan (mandi merchants, Ibrahim Sahib Street); Abdul Razak (businessman, Modi Road); Ibrahim Sahib (Meenakshi Kovil Street), Abdul Razak Sahib (steel merchant, Narayan Pillai Street) and Mastan Khan from Baidwadi (present day Shivajinagar) were the men who had signed off on the poster —they are an indication of how Bengaluru had a good trade set-up.
While TOI got a look at the poster, permission to take a photograph was denied. The poster, which has been sourced from fly.historicwings.com, further reveals as Somashekar had pointed out.

Police had been ordered to patrol major roads leading to the venue such as South Parade Road (now MG Road), Brigade Road and Church Street and even in Cubbon Park.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Bangalore News / Chethan Kumar, TNN / February 20th, 2017

Kiosk on wheels helps persons with disabilities turn entrepreneurs

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Green Products, Science & Technology, Transport, ,

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

The battery-operated kiosk, Sunny Splendor, is a boon to persons with disabilities. —Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P. | Photo Credit: G_P_Sampath Kumar
The battery-operated kiosk, Sunny Splendor, is a boon to persons with disabilities. —Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P. | Photo Credit: G_P_Sampath Kumar

Three years ago, Umesh, a lorry driver, lost his legs in a road accident. To make ends meet, he decided to sell tea on a two-wheeler, but the new venture threw up many challenges.

Dejected but not defeated, he approached an automobile firm for help. The firm, along with a wheelchair manufacturer, came up with a design for a disabled-friendly mobile kiosk to help people with disabilities earn a livelihood as part of a CSR initiative. The company approached the Association of People with Disabilities (APD), which funded the project. By 2015-end, Umesh had a prototype of the mobile kiosk.

APD rolled out three such mobile kiosks in the city in December last year to enable people with locomotive impairment and cerebral palsy start a business. The kiosk or electric vehicle named Sunny Splendor can also be charged on solar power.

Calling it ‘office on wheels’, C.N. Gopinath, executive board member of APD, said: “It plays a pivotal role in creating a perfect livelihood option for the physically challenged, who at times are constrained by financial circumstances and lack of qualification.”

Mansoor Ahmed, one of the fund raisers of the project, said the kiosk is environment and disabled-friendly. “We replaced the steering wheel with a joystick and the tires have increased brake efficiency”.

“I want to start a cosmetics and beverages business and my target audience comprises those working in tech parks. With this vehicle, I can commute to different tech parks,” said Basheer Ahmed, who is affected by polio. For Mahesh, who has been repairing mobile phones from home, the vehicle will help him broaden his customer base. “I want to run the business outside a government office. I am also planning to buy a typewriter, so I can help officials in their work”.

Four kiosks in Bengaluru

There are four such kiosks in Bengaluru. Beneficiaries can approach APD if they wish to become entrepreneurs, and have to go through a selection process before they can get their own mobile kiosk.

APD charges 10 per cent of the ₹1 lakh that costs to make a unit. “We believe they have the right to stake a claim in our ventures. This would not be possible if we operated on a charity model, which is is why we accept 10 per cent monetary contribution from them, though we do not insist this from those who cannot afford,” Mr. Mansoor Ahmed added.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Shilpa Ramaswamy / Bengaluru – January 03rd, 2016

`Pilot girl’ gives wings to dreams of many

Amazing Feats, Education, Transport, , , , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

pilotgirlmpos28dec2016
Charminar  :

A narrow, unpaved lane in Moghulpura leads us to a first floor two-room rented apartment. Awards, shields and certificates lining the tiny drawing room wall show the dizzy heights Salwa Fatima has scaled. Daughter of a sales manager at a bakery, Fatima is the first Muslim woman pilot from the city and would soon be flying commercial planes once she finishes her advanced training.

The story of the ‘pilot girl’, as she is popularly known in the area, has in fact given wings to the dreams of many more girls from the area. They are charting new career paths and English is now a priority. “Currently two Muslim girls from the area are studying in IIT. The girls are doing much better than boys academically in some cases,” says Urdu daily Siasat chief editor Zahid Ali Khan who was instrumental in fulfilling Fatima’s dream.

Living with her parents and three siblings — two sisters and a brother — Fatima broke the chains of conservatism to dream big. So, while other girls from the community joined teaching or the few ambitious ones became doctors, Fatima had her sights set on flying higher as a pilot.

Trained first at Andhra Pradesh Aviation Academy, she completed a course in Multi-Engine Rating (MER), necessary to become a commercial pilot, this September from New Zealand. A few more months of training and she will join an airline to fly passenger planes.

But her journey began many summers ago when she read that there were just three women pilots in India. “I found that there was no Muslim woman pilot in the city and secretly dreamed to become one,” says Fatima, 28, as her father Syed Ashfaque Ahmed and mother Syed Siraj Fatima look on.

And lady luck smiled on her. Siasat chief editor Khan, who was a guest at a programme conducted by Fatima, was impressed with the girl’s fluency in English. Khan asked what she wanted to become. “When uncle (Zahid Ali Khan) heard that I dreamed to become a pilot, he told me to meet him,” she says.

Next, Khan decided to contribute to funds required for her education. He even approached some friends. “It was a revelation for me. A Muslim girl from the Old City, which is often described as backward, wanted to be a pilot. I had to support her,” says Khan.

But when she needed a massive 36.02 lakh for advanced training, Khan approached Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao and the state agreed to give her a scholarship.

Fatima, who is married to a management graduate, says: “I am fortunate to have the backing of my parents, husband and in-laws.” Her mother-in-law, a retired school principal, supports her dream completely.

Fatima already has big plans for her 18-month-old daughter. “I want her to become an IAS officer,” she says.

source:  http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Hyderabad News / TNN / December 20th, 2016

MLA Tanveer Sait launches final asphalting of Jodi Thenginamara road

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, Transport, , , , , , , , , , ,

Mysuru, KARNATAKA :

N.R. Constituency Congress MLA Tanveer Sait — the man behind re-building of Jodi Thenginamara Road (Star of Mysore road) which was in a highly-dilapidated condition for over 10 years from Moulana Abdul Kalam Azad Circle (Highway Circle) upto Srinivasa theatre — is seen launching the final asphalting of the widened 80-feet road with two lanes here this morning in the presence of hundreds of local residents and businessmen among whom were The National Marbles Proprietor Zubair, Star of Mysore Editor-in-Chief K.B. Ganapathy, City Congress President T.S. Ravishankar and Congress leader Kaiser Ahmed.
N.R. Constituency Congress MLA Tanveer Sait — the man behind re-building of Jodi Thenginamara Road (Star of Mysore road) which was in a highly-dilapidated condition for over 10 years from Moulana Abdul Kalam Azad Circle (Highway Circle) upto Srinivasa theatre — is seen launching the final asphalting of the widened 80-feet road with two lanes here this morning in the presence of hundreds of local residents and businessmen among whom were The National Marbles Proprietor Zubair, Star of Mysore Editor-in-Chief K.B. Ganapathy, City Congress President T.S. Ravishankar and Congress leader Kaiser Ahmed.

Mysuru :

N.R. Constituency MLA Tanveer Sait, this morning, launched the final phase of asphalting works on Jodi Thenginamara Road (Star of Mysore road) starting from Maulanana Abul Kalam Azad Circle (Highway Circle) upto Srinivasa Theatre.

This important road, linking Highway Circle to Srinivasa Theatre, was in poor shape for over two decades and innumerable number of press reports on the bad condition of the road and recurring accidents, some fatal, had fallen on deaf ears of the authorities, including the MCC and District authorities till MLA Tanveer Sait took special interest to rebuild the road around six months back at a cost of Rs. 5.5 crore provided under Chief Minister’s Special Grant.

It may be mentioned here that when District Minister V. Sreenivasa Prasad came on this road to attend a function, his car got stuck more than once forcing him to call on Deputy Commissioner and order for immediate action. However, nothing happened for almost one-and-a-half years till MLA Tanveer Sait took the initiative. By the way, this road was last asphalted in the year 2001 when B.K. Prakash was the Mayor.

Soon after the works began, Tanveer Sait made regular inspections to check the quality of works in order to ensure that the road works are executed with top quality and as a result, the busy road, having heavy vehicular traffic movement, is being rebuilt with high quality.

Star of Mysore Editor-in-Chief K.B. Ganapathy who was the chief guest on the occasion, thanked Tanveer Sait for taking special interest in rebuilding the road with 80ft width thus fulfilling the long-felt need of the road users.

Noting that Tanveer Sait like his father late Azeez Sait is committed to work culture, Ganapathy said that Tanveer Sait was very much sensitive to the people’s problems and as such he was elected four consecutive times as MLA of NR constituency.

He called upon the people to extend their support to such committed legislators and co-operate with them in all developmental works.

City Congress President T.S. Ravishankar, Railway Goods Shed Lorry Owners Association President Shahid, MUDA member Annubhai, National Marbles Proprietor Zubair and others were present.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / May 20th, 2016

Feroza Bano, first trackwoman in N Railway, ensures you travel safe

Transport
Trackwoman Feroza Bano says she has to ensure fitness and renewal of tracks in coordination with signals before movement of each train. (HT Photo)
Trackwoman Feroza Bano says she has to ensure fitness and renewal of tracks in coordination with signals before movement of each train. (HT Photo)

When Feroza Banu became Northern Railway’s first trackwoman in 2004, every day was a struggle.

Her husband had disappeared three years ago, and her colleagues weren’t ready to accept a woman in what has always been a male bastion. She had to run from pillar to post to convince officials she deserved the job. Back home, she had six daughters to bring up.

A decade on, the 50-year-old has proved naysayers wrong. Working in 12-hour shifts, she lugs around a 20-kg bag packed with heavy tools on her back and monitors a 5-km stretch of track near Charbagh railway station in Lucknow.

With scores of trains whizzing past every hour, even a small slip-up can cost hundreds of lives but Feroza doesn’t appear intimidated.

“From Utrethia to Charbagh, I have to ensure fitness and renewal of tracks, packing of sleepers, tightening of bolts and coordination with signals before movement of each train,” she says with pride.

Even a small slip-up can cost hundreds of lives, Feroza knows, but she doesn’t appear intimidated. (HT Photo)
Even a small slip-up can cost hundreds of lives, Feroza knows, but she doesn’t appear intimidated. (HT Photo)

She is fondly called ‘Feroza Aapa’ by her colleagues, who now admit she is a better worker than many of them.

“Her commitment to her job with trains whizzing past, is commendable. And carrying heavy equipment on her back while patrolling an area of around 5 km is not easy,” said SK Sharma, Charbagh station superintendent.

However, for Bano hard work is part of life. “If I have to survive, I have to work. After all, God has given me the role of ensuring safe travel for thousands of people,” she said.

She now lives with two daughters in a house in the Alambagh Railway Colony compound but is acutely aware of her responsibilities.

“I have six daughters, four of them are married. I have to settle the other two also next year before retirement. I was not able to educate them properly because trackwomen are not paid that well,” she says.

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home / by Anupam Srivastava, Hindustan Times, Lucknow / November 30th, 2015

OFF RADAR – When APJ Abdul Kalam charmed his way into Boeing’s nerve centre

Business & Economy, Leaders, Transport, World Opinion
Nostalgia: APJ Abdul Kalam with Dinesh Keskar during his 2009 visit to Boeing's Seattle plant - PICTURE COURTESY: BOEING
Nostalgia: APJ Abdul Kalam with Dinesh Keskar during his 2009 visit to Boeing’s Seattle plant – PICTURE COURTESY: BOEING

Aircraft manufacturer’s Dinesh Keskar recalls the late President’s visit to Seattle in 2009

The sudden demise of former President APJ Abdul Kalam on July 27, left people mourning in India. Over 12,000km away in Seattle too, a pall of gloom descend on Boeing’s manufacturing plant, where the former President had charmed and impressed the employees during his visit in 2009. Later Dinesh Keskar, Senior Vice-President, Asia-Pacific and India, Boeing Aeroplanes called Kalam “a friend of a lot of people, including Boeing.”

During the 2009 visit, the former President had shown an interest in meeting Joe Sutter, the man who designed the double-decker aircraft, the Boeing 747, which is popularly known as the Jumbo Jet. “The former President knew of him (Sutter) and wanted to meet him,” recalls Keskar.

The 2009 visit to the Seattle plant was Kalam’s first to the Boeing’s manufacturing facility. The 88-year-old Sutter, often called the Father of the 747, was there. The two had a 20-minute meeting which Keskar too attended. “The former President wondered how Sutter had come up with the idea of the upper deck. Kalam also asked Sutter about the support he had in designing the Boeing 747,” Keskar recalled. Perhaps Kalam, who was involved with the Light Combat Aircraft project, was hoping to replicate the same in India. The Missile Man also gave a lecture to an audience that included scientists and top technologists during the Seattle visit. Kalam, however, was not just interested in the Jumbo Jet. During his visit he also got a first-hand feel of the first Boeing 787 aircraft, the long-range, wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner . The 787 aircraft that Kalam saw in Seattle was the first of the 27 aircraft that are joining the Air India fleet.

Kalam was impressed with the aircraft, particularly its wings. The crystal model of an aeroplane that Boeing presented Kalam to commemorate the visit is still displayed in Delhi.

Bengaluru days

Kalam’s relationship with Boeing did not end at Seattle. He also visited the Boeing research centre in Bengaluru. Keskar says that the former President spent over three hours talking to the 15 people present, inquiring about their work. Many of the people were picked from the National Aeronautics Lab, where Kalam was the Chairman of the organisation’s research council.

It was during this visit that Kalam said that one of the things Boeing must do is to get India into the aeroplane market. “He was obviously very interested in getting Boeing to do something in India in terms of building an aeroplane in India. We are still working on smaller pieces of that. We have not gone to the stage of the aeroplane but that was his vision,” Keskar added.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Specials> Flight Plan> Off Radar / by Ashwinin Phadnis / August 25th, 2015

Young, veiled and free: Meet Uber Delhi’s first woman driver

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Education, Transport, Travel & Tourism

In the backdrop of security-related suspicions associated with the cab service Parveen’s large green eyes peeping out from her trendy hijab, hold promise.

“Today in the morning I dropped two young boys to Anand Vihar,” says Zamarrud Parveen, a pleasant surprise in her black-and-white hijab and bright yellow salwar kameez behind the wheel during my last Uber ride. “They started talking to me and asked where I was from. I told them I grew up in Bijnor, UP (Uttar Pradesh).” She changes gears and breaks into a proud chuckle. “They said, ‘Seriously?! We’re also from there, but we didn’t think any girl from there would ever choose this profession.’ I just laughed and asked them why. I said I loved driving! They had no idea what to say after that.”

The spirited 21-year-old says she is presently the only woman driver at Uber in Delhi and has been with the company for two months now. In the backdrop of the infamy and security-related suspicion associated with the cab service – given an incident of rape, sexual harassment and the general misbehaviour of male drivers with female passengers – Parveen’s mugshot with large green eyes peeping out from behind her trendy hijab, pops up on the app, with promise.

ZamarrudParveen01MPOs21aug2015

“I love the niqab. I’ve always worn it,” she says. “I usually wear a full burqa and niqab to college and everywhere, but while driving I only wear the niqab with ordinary clothes because it becomes difficult to drive,” adds Parveen, who is simultaneously pursuing a BA pass course from Jamia Millia Islamia and hopes to one day complete her MA and teach Islamic Studies, her favourite subject. “When I told my college friends about my job as a taxi driver, they didn’t believe me. Because of the way I am in college – always in a full burqa and niqab and all,” she says. “They only believed me when I showed them my visiting card. But they were really happy.”

Parveen grew up in a conservative mohalla in Bijnor and lived there until she graduated from the eighth grade, from Muslim Kudrat Girls Intercollege. She moved to Delhi, along with her mother and three younger sisters (Zoya, 19 and married, Shafaq, 12 and Ufaq, 10) and presently lives on rent in a one-room home where her father, a construction labourer had lived for 20 years. After graduating from school, Parveen was encouraged by her mother to learn how to drive and enrolled herself at Sakha Consulting Pvt Ltd. “My family is very supportive. My mother always wanted to learn how to drive, but couldn’t because she grew up in a conservative background… and culture. But she told me, ‘So what if I couldn’t drive? You must.'”

ZamarrudParveen02MPOs21aug2015

Parveen chose to take the job at Uber because they were offering to pay her a higher salary than her employers at Sakha. “I had a commercial licence so they were happy to take me,” she says. The country can expect more women like Parveen since Uber is working on recruiting close to 50,000 women drivers, who are presently being trained by the organisation, iCare Life. “They will be footing the bill to get them training and licences – learners’, permanent and commercial,” says Parveen, who enjoys her weekdays on the road. “This job is very convenient, if I have some personal work I can just go offline, finish my work and go back online.” She usually logs in at 7am, goes off between noon and 4pm and officially logs out for the day by around 7 or 8pm. This routine, she says, allows her to do namaz five times a day and spend time with her family.

The once shy, young girl, instructed as a child, as most girls in her neighbourhood were, never to speak to people or leave the house, felt liberated in Delhi and claims the course at Sakha helped her become exponentially more confident. “When I was young I couldn’t speak to or even stand in front of people. In Delhi, I spoke to more people, Sakha gave me training in self grooming, English classes, self defence and that really helped me open up.” The course at Sakha also had a week of law classes, in which Parveen learned different acts and “my rights out in the world and at home”.

ZamarrudParveen03MPOs21aug2015

But though Parveen has the support of her family, breaking out of an orthodox Muslim community was something her mother bravely battled. Ghazala Parveen defied all odds (and a disapproving mother-in-law) to educate herself and her three daughters. She graduated from class 10 after marrying her husband Habib-ur-Rahman and conceiving her eldest daughter Parveen. “You know what people think of women – by 18 or 19, get her married and that’s her whole life. Just chulha, chaaka, bachche, that’s it,” says Parveen. “But my mother was just completely different. The amount of turmoil she’s been through in her sasural, I don’t think anyone else would be able to. Her mother-in-law didn’t like girls at all. But my ‘abbu’ always wanted to have daughters.” Parveen’s three younger sisters all study in an English medium school near their home in Madanpur Khadar in Kalindi Kunj.

Being a lady taxi driver in a veil is not the only power statement Parveen is making. She’s also breaking the sexist stereotype associated with women behind the wheel. “During training, my sir used to say ‘jab tak gaadi thukegi nahi, seekhoge nahi (you won’t learn how to drive until you bang the car)’,” she says. “I used to say ‘aisa kisne bola hai‘. In the three years I have been driving I haven’t even touched another car with my car; no scratch, nothing.” She smirks, “Bhagaai bhi bohot hai. (I’ve driven very fast too).”

Parveen is happy with the response she’s got from passengers so far. “Most male passengers remain calm and silent. I don’t think they have anything to say,” she says. “Others are friendly and speak to me nicely. They definitely say this is the first time they’ve seen a lady driver. I love hearing that.”

The ambitious and dynamic Parveen is a powerhouse of resistance and part of a new generation of formidable women. Riding the wave of defiance her mother set in motion, Parveen is chatty and respectful, polite and witty. She is firm in her beliefs (“I have been allowed to even have a love marriage, but I’d prefer to be in an arranged marriage so my family can intervene if I have any marital trouble) and determined to achieve her goals (“I want to learn and when I become a teacher, I one day want to give other people the opportunity to learn”). At 21, her salary of Rs 15,000 per month, smacks full in the face every “how can you even educate the girl child” taunt from ladies in Bijnor. And her resilience is truly inspiring.

As she drives aggressively through the barriers of patriarchy, Parveen – who once successfully juggled her job, fasting for ramzan, an ailing mother and exams in college – says, “I love driving on the highway. It’s liberating when the car runs at 100-120km/h. I’m responsible for my own safety. And I absolutely love it.”

source: http://www.dailyo.in / Daily O / Home Page> Politics> Out of Order / by Asmita Bakshi @asmitabee / August 20th, 2015

Dailyo spots Jamia student, only woman driver at Uber in Delhi

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Education, Transport, Travel & Tourism

The only woman driver at Uber in Delhi is a student from Jamia Millia Islamia, according to a report from dailyo.in. The reported pointed out that Zamarrud Parveen who grew up in Uttar Pradesh’ Bijnor has joined the company for two months now.

The hijab wearing Parveen, is also doing a BA pass course from Jamia. When asked about her future, she told the daily that one day she plans to complete her MA and teach Islamic studies, her favourite subject. “When I told my college friends about my job as a taxi driver, they didn’t believe me. Because of the way I am in college – always in a full burqa and niqab and all. They only believed me when I showed them my visiting card. But they were really happy,” she told the daily.

It was a few months ago when she moved to Delhi, along with her mother and three younger sisters (Zoya, 19 and married, Shafaq, 12 and Ufaq, 10).  The family live lives on rent in a one-room home where her father, a construction labourer has lived for 20 years, according to the report.

CAPTION: Photo of Parveen via dailyo.in

source: http://www.okhlatimes.com / Okhla Times / Home> JMI /OT Campus Reporter-JMI / OT – August 20th, 2015

Telangana govt to fund Old City woman’s pilot training

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Science & Technology, Transport

Hyderabad :

The Telangana government is all set to give wings to a girl from the Old City. Poised for flight, Salwa Fatima, who is the first pilot from purana shahar, will be given Rs 35.5 lakh so as to enable her to soar the skies, this time, in a multi-engine aircraft.

Highly placed sources told STOI on Saturday that the chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has sanctioned the funds. A government order (GO) will be issued to the effect next week.

“Taking a keen interest, the CM has treated the case of Salwa Fatima as a “special case,” said Syed Omar Jaleel , special secretary, minorities welfare department. Describing Salwa as a “young girl who shows immense promise”, he added, “The funds will be released in two instalments. They will be given directly to the aviation school where Salwa will be studying. The GO will be released soon.” There exists a precedent of the government granting aid to an individual – to a boy from the SC community, Jaleel observed.

Thanks to the large heartedness of philanthropists, family and her own unbending resolve, Salwa, who already has a commercial pilot license to fly a single engine aircraft, has already clocked over 200 hours of flying. And as a logical conclusion, she wants to upgrade her flying skills to multi-engine aircraft. “In order to do this, I will have to take two courses: the multiengine rating and a specialisation course called type rating. For the former, I will need to have 15 hours of flying in a multiengine aircraft and 10 hours of simulation. The latter will enable me to fly an airbus,” she says. She is still unaware of the CM giving his assent to the release of funds.

The girl, who is a healthy blend of the traditional and the modern, says that she has shortlisted the GMR Aviation Academy and the Telangana State Aviation Academy as her preferred flying schools. “Both courses put together will entail expenses of around Rs 35 lakh,” she says.

Positive about support from her in-laws, she continues, “My husband and in-laws are in fact supportive of my aspirations. There is a tradition of women working here. In fact, my parents wanted me to go to a family which encourages me to work.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / by Syed Mohammed, TNN / March 22nd, 2015

The last LUNA moped in city showroom sold

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Transport

City hotelier Nadeem buys the moped for Rs. 12,000

NadeemMPOs12mar2015

Mysuru :

Luna, the much sought moped by many in earlier days, will now remain as memories as the last moped was sold at a showroom in city recently.

Nadeem Ahmed Khan of Taj Biriyani on Mysuru-Bengaluru highway, out of love for the moped, bought the Luna TFR 49CC moped manufactured by Kinetic Engineering at Kangtani Motors on Chamaraja Double Road bearing Engine No. CJ 13028771 and Chassis No. CJ 03023920 for Rs. 12,000 which included Rs. 1,610 lifetime tax and has got it registered at RTO (East).

In the mid-1980s, the Luna moped from the Pune-based Kinetic Group was a popular brand on Indian roads – a low-cost two-wheeler that helped bicycle riders upgrade to a better mode of transport. It was sleek, stylish, sported a chrome body and had both a regular as well as a pedal kick start.

It was a much sought moped for middle income group as it was giving a mileage of about 40 to 50 km per litre with a speed of 50 km per hour. The customers had to wait for months for the moped to be delivered to them after booking it.

With the advancement of science and technology in automobile sector and new vehicles with latest technologies being launched, the demand for Luna decreased or almost stopped which made the manufacturer stop producing the moped.

Nadeem, speaking to Star of Mysore said that he bought the moped out of love towards it and added that money was not a concern to him as the moped would not be available in the market anymore.

He said that he would keep the moped at his house and would use it occasionally.

It may be recalled that Nadeem had got a sheep from Australia during last Bakrid, had also purchased a huge sea fish and lobsters to serve for his customers at Taj Biriyani.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / March 10th, 2015