Pench helps 37 youths get job

NAGPUR: In a big effort to save tigers, 37 youths living on fringes of wildlife parks were employed in hospitality industry by joint project of Pench Tiger Conservation Foundation (TCF) & Pratham Arora Centre for Education (PACE), Mumbai.
Pratham had started a dedicated training centre in Pench on August 15 and plans to provide jobs to at least 360 youths in a year.
“This was the first batch of 37 youths including 7 girls to get jobs after a two-month training in hospitality management.Now another batch of 44 youths is undergoing training,” said MS Reddy, CCF & field director of Pench.
The 37 youths hail from small villages on the fringes of Umred-Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary, Nagpur, Bor Tiger Reserve, Wardha, & Pench Tiger Reserve, Nagpur.
The youths belonging to eco-development committee villages are trained in hotel management, housekeeping & food and beverage services at Sillari. There are 42 EDCs in Pench buffer villages.
Rs 16,000 course fee – that includes food and accommodation – is borne by Pench Foundation and Biodiversity Conservation & Rural Livelihood Improvement Project.“The youths will get Rs 7,000 a month salary apart from free food and accommodation,” informed Jaydeep Das with Pench Tiger Conservation Foundation.
The youths have already reached their destinations at Nashik, Pune, Rajkot, Vadodara, Lonavla, Mahabaleshwar and other tourist places.