Dream takes wings for this Odisha girl

Phulbani: Bringing laurels to tribal-dominated Kandhamal district as well as to the state,  Sushree Sai Pranita Mohanty of Kendupadar here has become the first woman Flying Officer in Indian Air Force (IAF) from the district.

After completing her training on Weather Forecasting at Air Force Academy in Hyderabad, the 26-year-old girl has joined the Gwalior Air Force station in Madhya Pradesh as Flying Officer in Meteorological branch.

This was a long-cherished dream for the young girl, who was born to Shankar Narayan Mohanty and Minati Mohanty on December 26,1993.  After completing her Matriculation from Phulbani Girl’s High School and Plus-II  Science in Phulbani Autonomous College, she did her Graduation at Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning in Andhra Pradesh and PG in Physics at Pondicherry University.

After that, she joined Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research for PhD, but could not complete the course due to her family’s financial constraint.  Later, she joined a private publishing company.

With encouragement from family members, including her uncle  Parikhita Mohanty, who serves as a Major in Indian Amy,  Sai Pranita started applying for Staff Selection Commission (SSC) examinations to join IAF. Cracking the exam in third trial, she joined Air Force Academy, Hyderabad for training, which was completed on June 20.

“We all are very happy for her achievement. She had struggled a lot for this. Hailing from such a remote area, she has become the first woman in the entire district to become a Flying Officer in IAF. This will certainly give inspiration to many others,” said her proud father Shankar Narayan Mohanty.