Avtar Bhat/
Fayaz Bukhari
JAMMU/SRINAGAR, Mar 8: Sandhya Dhar from Gangyal, Jammu, Nasira Akhter from Kulgam, Kashmir and Padma Yangchan from Ladakh were among 29 women who were conferred the prestigious Nari Shakti Puraskar by President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi today.
Sandhya Dhar, a disabled person who was conferred with Nari Shakti Award by President for her contribution and dedication towards the rights of under privileged and disabled persons on the occasion of International Women’s Day at New Delhi today has proved that she did not allow her disability to become an impediment in her life but worked hard to carve a niche for herself in the society to become an inspiration for others.
Sandhya whose lower limbs are not functioning and who is confined to wheel chair only did not allow it to become an impediment in her progress and desire to serve the society at large. She dedicated her life for the welfare and betterment of disabled and under privileged people in Jammu by founding JIGER (Jammu Institute General Education and Rehabilitation) in her locality at Gangyal in 2015. Since then this institute is dedicated to welfare of the underprivileged and disabled people of the region.
Talking to Excelsior on phone from Delhi today after being conferred with award by President, Kovind, Sandhya said that JIGER is working for inclusive education of disabled and underprivileged children. At present 75 children are undergoing education in the institute at Sector 4 Gangyal. She said besides education, the disabled children are given physiotherapy at the Centre by Dr Anshi Zutshi and medical camps are being organised for such children three to four times a year with the support of Dr Rajesh Koul.
She said besides, a wheel chair donation camp, devices for assistance, talking calculator and walking sticks to these people are being provided in the camp. Wedded to the noble cause of serving the humanity, she said seminars are being conducted by the Society in various universities of Jammu as well as Degree Colleges of the region to educate these people about the rights of Persons With Disability.
During the COVID pandemic these seminars were held online. She said besides, three disabled persons were provided job by JIGER to teach others. Moreover, seven units for educating disabled children have been opened in different areas with support of JIGER and each unit has a roll of 25 to 30 children. This way, 300 to 400 children are covered, she added.
Having a Masters Degree in Commerce, P G Diploma in Business Administration and BCA in Computer Education Sandhya said that she belonged to the clan of Mata Roop Bhawani, a spiritual saint of medieval Kashmir who exactly started a revolution in education over 400 years back in Kashmir and this was all motivational force for her to dedicate herself to education of differently abled children.
Giving all credit to her parents, Mahraj Krishan Dhar and Santosh Dhar, who she said brought up her against all odds. “It was only their positive approach towards life that I could do something good for others”. She also gave credit to her brother Sanjay Dhar, a CEO in a company at Melbourne, Australia who she said, is an encouragement for her. She termed him her guiding force on every spot of life saying nothing was possible without the support of her family members.
She also gave credit to collective work of JIGER saying that the award was given to her but it is the result of the collective work of all members of the institute including its vice president, Padamshri, Javed Ahmed Tak, Monika Badgal secretary, project coordinator Vikas Kachroo and others.
Hailing from Kanipora village of South Kashmir’s Kulgam district, Nasira Akhter was awarded with the ‘Nari Shakti Puraskar’ for her exemplary grass root innovation for environmental conservation.
Nasira has been awarded for developing a herb that converts polythene to ashes-a biodegradable product that does not pollute the environment.
Nasira Akhter is a grassroots innovator, who after working for over eight years, demonstrated an innovative way for making polythene biodegradable at Kashmir University Science Instrumentation Centre and has developed a herb that converts polythene to ashes, a biodegradable product that does not pollute the environment.
Interestingly, she has been recognised by Kalam World Record, Asia Book of Records, and India Book of Records among others while she has also received an honorary doctorate from World Record University in London.
She has been conferred with the Nari Shakti Puraskar for exemplary grass-root innovation for environmental conservation.
After developing a herb, she has demonstrated the efficacy of the product at Kashmir University’s Science Instrumentation Centre (KUSIC).
With the help of her herb polythene can be burned into ashes with fewer fumes and without polluting the environment, something which is said can be a game-changer in dealing with the menace of polythene that has been polluting the environment in Kashmir as well as other places across the country.
Padma Yangchan from Ladakh who was also presented the award by President Kovind today for preserving and reviving the lost cuisine and hand weaving techniques of Ladakh and promoting it to International level is an owner of a designer studio and a café.
She revived the lost cuisine and clothing of Ladakh. She started her own designer brand called Namza. Her café is based on the idea of sustainable agriculture, with a personal kitchen garden of fresh organic farm produce in the café compound itself. The café serves handcrafted food and is preserving the existing undocumented Ladakhi cuisine and recipes.
Her vision is to let the people experience the culture of Ladakh. She is also preserving and modifying the hand weaving techniques and art of Ladakh, making it more suitable for both national and International markets.
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