KOCHI: It proved a memorable day for 50 students with disabilities, a majority of whom could not have afforded air travel even in their dreams. The select group of students from special schools under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Tripunithura block resource centre, were flown to the state capital on Tuesday.Though the original plan was to meet the Chief Minister and the Speaker, they couldn’t do so as the CM was in Kochi in connection with a few public programmes. However, the flight on board an Indigo aircraft was a terrific experience for them. An NRI named Arakkazhathu Louis had sponsored the journey.
According to the organisers of the event, during a visit to a special school, Louis was moved when a student - in reply to a question - evinced interest in a flight trip. The students who reached the Cochin International Airport in the morning were taken to the aircraft with teachers and parents accompanying them. Though the Speaker could not reach the Thiruvananthapuram airport to receive the students, T N Seema, vice chairperson of the Haritha Kerala Mission, and G S Pradeep Kumar, of ‘Aswamedham’ fame, received the students at the airport.
After visiting the Secretariat, assembly complex and the zoo in the capital, the students returned to Kochi by road in the evening. Programme officer G S Deepa and Udayamperoor panchayat member M K Anilkumar accompanied the students. M Swaraj MLA saw off the students at the Kochi airport.