Aspiring muslim girl from old Hyderabad nears pilot dream

Hyderabad: Syeda Salva Fatima, 27, first Muslim woman from the Old City to get a commercial pilot licence, will finally leave for New Zealand for advanced training after the State government transferred Rs 10 lakh, which was part of the Rs 35.5 lakh promised to her.

In March 2015, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had handed her a letter of sanction for Rs 35.5 lakh for advanced pilot training. Due to a ‘technical problem’ that was attributed to the selection of the academy for advanced training by Ms Fatima, the course not commencing at the Telangana State Aviation Academy and procedural delays with the Telangana state government, her advanced training was delayed by one-and-a-half years.

Ms Fatima on Sunday met MIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi and thanked him for pursuing the matter with the state government.

Mr K. Bhupal Reddy, special secretary to the Chief Minister, said, “The state government has been accommodative in her case. After an instance of misappropriation by the previous government, where the funds were directly transferred to the candidate, a policy decision was taken to transfer the funds to the academy or institute where they get trained. Ms Fatima had to sort out issues in the family and she later took time to get admission in the academy. There was no delay on part of the state government. We approved and transferred soon after she got admission.”

Ms Fatima, resident of Sultan Shahi, after completing her course at the state-run aviation academy, was looking for support for multi-engine rating and type rating courses. She said, “In July 2015 I cleared the technical exam but the TS Aviation Academy did not start the course. I tried for GMR Asia Pacific Flight Training in December 2015. Even then it was delayed. Later I tried the New Zealand Internation-al Commercial Pilot Academy. The funds were supposed to be transferred by August 20 but they were transferred on September 1.”

“Though I have missed the slot, they said they will accommodate me in the next slot. The government said it would release remaining payment when I get admitted for type rating course,” she said.