After 4-year wait, PMC opens aviation gallery for public
The civic body had inaugurated the museum in March 2020, but it never saw the light of the day. Hindustan Times has raised this issue many times
Four years after it was first inaugurated, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) finally opened its aviation gallery to the public on Tuesday. Citizens can now access all aviation-related information through this gallery.
The civic body had inaugurated the museum in March 2020, but it never saw the light of the day. Hindustan Times has raised this issue many times.
The proposal was initially put forward in 2017, and the civic body completed the works in March 2020, costing ₹4 crore.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the PMC stated, “The aviation gallery is now open to the public from 7 am to 9 pm. The ticket rates are ₹25 for adults, ₹10 for children, and ₹300 for foreigners.”
The gallery, called the ‘Sarsangchalak Balasaheb Devras Aviation Gallery’, is located at the Lal Bahadur Shastri School, behind Congress Bhavan in Shivajinagar Gavthan.
City-based private aviation company ‘Mahalaxmi Aviation’ has taken the facility on a three-year lease by participating in the tender process.
Commenting about the development, Sujit Shedkar, the aircraft exhibit’s coordinator, stated, “The gallery is quite informative, and citizens will like it. This gallery displays the history of the aviation industry, replicas of aeroplanes, aeroplane designs, airport design, aeromodelling, and aerospace exhibits.”
Nitin Welde of Mahalaxmi Aviation remarked, “We see it as a social service to raise awareness among citizens about the aviation business. We have prepared a study trip for school students at this gallery. We are working to include this gallery in the Pune Darshan bus service, which is operated by PMPML. Citizens should visit this centre to learn about the aviation sector.”
The multi-story gallery showcases many kinds of aviation evolution beginning with the Greek period, aircraft models, Air Force documentaries, aero modelling, helicopter models, and information brochures on space research and aviation potential.
Balasaheb Bodke, a former NCP corporator, and BJP corporator Jyotsana Ekbote are credited with overseeing the gallery’s planning, construction, and inauguration. Interestingly, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and BJP state unit president Chandrakant Patil launched the gallery on March 9, 2020.
