COIMBATORE: 25 students and their parents from Sikkarampalayam in Mettupalayam experienced the thrill and joy of air travel for the first time recently, thanks to their panchayat president S Gnanasekaran. On August 19, a batch of 55 persons flew to Chennai from Coimbatore on a one-day trip. Gnanasekaran sponsored their return travel by train, food and accommodation as well. The students are studying Class X in the Kannarpalayam Government Higher Secondary School.
They boarded a flight to Chennai on Saturday at 7 am. Gnanasekaran had rented a bus in which they travelled to an amusement park and the beach and a few tourist spots. They boarded a train to Coimbatore at 10.30 pm.
Speaking to TNIE, Gnanasekaran, who runs a construction material manufacturing unit, said, “I come from an economically weaker section and studied in a government school. During my youth, I did not get a chance to travel by flight. Having come up in life, I took my family members on a plane in 2010, and their happiness was beyond words. I have so far travelled to 30 countries. In 2016, when I was on a flight, I saw an orphanage taking a few children and they were so thrilled. It inspired me and I decided to sponsor air travel for the underprivileged.”
Gnanasekaran said he spent Rs 7,000 on each person, totalling Rs 19 lakh including flight ticket and train fare, bus and food.It is not the first time Gnanasekaran has done this. Before the Covid - 19 pandemic, he took 110 persons including students, parents and teachers of the school on a trip. He resumed the practice after lockdown restrictions were eased. On August 6, he flew a batch of 55, including students of the school, their parents and teachers, to Chennai.He is making arrangement for another batch of 55 persons on September 8.
