Munmun Chatterjee could soon find herself behind the wheel of an expensive sedan, driving her employer to work. Wasim Rajah might be manning a carpool of school students.

For these youngsters, mostly from slums in Dattabad, Halishahar and other fringe zones or pass-outs from juvenile homes, a new world of opportunities beckons, 12 weeks from now.

Project Sunshine — an initiative for providing free driving lessons-cum-placement to underprivileged, unemployed youths of the city — aims at both addressing the growing shortage of trained drivers and giving these youngsters a new ignition key to get started in life.

A joint effort of NGOs Nayeedisha and Asha Sanchar, the project has motored off with a batch of 50 boys and girls, who will get their driving licences in 12 weeks’ time, after having logged a minimum of 130 km each. The target for the first year is 1,200 road-ready drivers armed with licences.

“Last month, more four-wheelers were sold than two-wheelers and the growth rate of the Indian automobile sector is among the highest in the world. It provides a huge opportunity to those without a formal education. To be employable, they just need to acquire driving skills,” says Pradip Chopra. His PS Group, a realty firm, has donated four cars for the initiative, besides providing financial support.

Transport minister Subhas Chakraborty has allowed the ring road around Salt Lake stadium to be utilised for the driving lessons initially. He has also provided a room equipped with audio-visual equipment on rent to Nayeedisha in the stadium. It is being utilised for conducting theory classes.

Most of the girls in the first batch have been sourced from Pather Panchali, the NGO supported by the transport minister’s wife Romola, while some of the boys have come from juvenile homes through Prajak, another NGO.

“Once these boys reach 18, they are either sent to after-care homes or we try to place them somewhere. Government officials must also be convinced of the employability quotient and this project looks very viable,” says a Prajak spokesperson.

Many working/single women these days would prefer a woman chauffeur, and even parents sending their children to school in pool cars would feel safer with a woman at the wheel, feels Ruth Raju of Path Welfare Society, another voluntary organisation sourcing the girl trainees. “To cater to the rising demand for women drivers, we are trying to involve other NGOs too,” she says.