Produced by Hitansh Gaur
Designed d by Sahaj Ajmani
A woman cab driver from the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra is set to go to the UK for higher studies as she received a scholarship from Maharashtra government after meeting with CM Eknath Shinde.
Kiran Kurma from Reguntha village of Gadchiroli district had completed her post-graduation in economics from the Osmania University of Hyderabad. But she returned to her village to make a living for her family.
Reguntha lies around 50 kms away from the town of Sironcha in the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, which has been affected by the Naxal violence for a long time.
Kiran Kurma got a job in Delhi after she completed her Master’s degree but she had to rush back to her village after her father met with an accident. Since that time, Kiran has been driving a taxi from Regunta to Sironcha and back, a 14-kilometre drive every day to support her family.
Image courtesy: Nobel World Records
Kiran Kurma cracked the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) to secure admission at the prestigious University of Leeds for a one-year course of MSc in International Marketing Management.
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Kiran Kurma was hesitant at first but then she took some help from a friend to meet Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde. She told Shinde her story of struggle and hard work as she needed a scholarship of Rs 40 lakh for her higher studies. After listening to her, Shinde recommended Kiran to reach out to the ministry of Social Welfare.
By the time Kiran Kurma reached the office of Social Welfare Department’s Secretary, her application was already there as CM Shinde had forwarded it himself. Shinde told the department to complete the formalities as soon as possible.
Kiran Kurma has said that she wanted to set an example so that people, especially from her small village, believe in the power of education. She was earlier taunted for how she ended up driving a taxi even though she was a post graduate in Economics.
Kiran told TOI that she plans to return to her village and use her education for the betterment of people in her area.