A mason, a centenarian athlete, Jharkhand’s “Lady Tarzan” and a “mushroom mahila ” were among the 15 women awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar by President Ram Nath Kovind here on Sunday.
The government gives away the awards every year to recognise the service of women towards the cause of women’s empowerment and social welfare. The 2019 winners are from fields as diverse as agriculture, sports, handicrafts, afforestation and wildlife conservation, armed forces and education.
Bina Devi, 43, a mushroom grower, won the award for popularising mushroom production in five blocks and 105 neighbouring villages of Munger district, helping 1,500 women.
World’s fastest
Mann Kaur, 103, known as the “Miracle from Chandigarh”, started her athletic career at the age of 93. She won four golds at the World Masters Athletic Championship, Poland and set a record by becoming the world’s fastest centenarian at the American Masters Game, 2016.
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Kalavati Devi, a 58-year-old mason, won the award for acting as the driving force towards reducing open defecation in Kanpur. She is responsible for building over 4,000 toilets in villages and has gone door to door to create awareness of the ills of open defecation.
Padala Bhudevi, 40, who has been working for the welfare of tribal women and widowsm was awarded for training 30 women in making mehendi cones and hair care products.
Arifa Jan, 33, was awarded for reviving the lost art of Numdha handicrafts and has trained more than 100 women in Kashmir.
Chami Murmu, 47, fondly known as the “Lady Tarzan” of Jharkhand, has been involved in planting more than 25 lakh trees with the Forest Department and mobilising more than 3,000 women.
Nilza Wangmo, 40 is an entrepreneur running Alchi Kitchen Restaurant, the first one to serve traditional Ladakhi cuisines. She has trained 20 women from remote areas of Ladakh who manage the restaurant and has represented Ladakhi recipes in 5-star hotels.
Rashmi Urdhwardeshe, 60, has been the Director of the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). She has rich experience in the fields of automotive R&D, testing and homologation, framing of test standards and regulations.
Tashi and Nungshi Malik, 28, from Uttrakhand were the first female twins to scale Everest in 2013.
Kaushiki Chakroborty, 38, is an Indian classical vocalist with more than 15 years of experience. Avani Chaturvedi, 26, Bhawanna Kanth, 27, and Mohana Singh Jitarwal 28, are the first women fighter pilots.
Bhageerathi Amma, 105, and Karthyayini Amma, 98, have passed the Class IV literacy equivalent examinations.
