Chandrayaan-3 launch: It’s a dream come true for 30 students from Punjab govt schools as they watch it live in Sriharikota

Under the initiative taken by the Punjab government, 30 students from Schools of Eminence (SoE) were taken to Sriharikota. They boarded a flight to Chennai from Chandigarh on Thursday. On Friday, Punjab school education minister Harjot Singh Bains also joined students at Chennai from where they proceeded to Sriharikota by road.

The Schools of Eminence are specialised institutions started by the AAP government in Punjab for classes 9 to 12.

Bains said that students were selected for the exposure visit on the basis of their rankings in SoE entrance exam and those who are in science stream have been given preference to help them gain required exposure. “Initially, 40 students were selected but some could not join due to floods or other issues,” he said.

On the 3-day visit, students will also see the entire space research facility at Sriharikota and learn about India’s space missions and advancements in space technology, said Bains.

He further said that the Punjab government is entering an understanding with ISRO and now students from government schools will be sent at every launch. “ISRO has 13 more launches lined up in coming months. We will be sending batches regularly. The ISRO has also expressed interest in setting up a museum in Punjab. We will see how it works out at government level,” said Bains.

Karanpreet Singh, a class 11 student from Government Senior Secondary School, Samrala of Ludhiana district, said that the experience of watching a rocket touching the skies was “amazing”. “My father is a tailor and mother is a homemaker. Never in my dreams I would have imagined to watch this historic event with naked eyes,” he said. “I sat in the plane for the first time.”

Bharti Saini, a class 11 student from Government Senior Secondary School, Nangal, Ropar district said that she had watched the launch of Chandrayaan-1 and 2 on television. “But when you watch it live, the feeling is something else. You wish to reach those heights one day. You feel proud of your country,” she said.

On Friday, Bains also joined students in Chennai from where they will proceed to Sriharikota for the event. (Express photo)

Simranjot Kaur, daughter of a farmer from Faridkot, said that her parents were immensely proud of her when she told them that she was selected for the visit. “They felt proud of me like I have achieved something big. I felt proud of my country when I watched the launch today,” she said.

“We always saw such programmes on YouTube or TV because one can’t imagine going there at their own level. I had never thought that I would visit ISRO centre one day,” said Lakhvir Kaur, from Government Model senior secondary school, Ramnagar Bathinda. She is the daughter of a farmer.