New Delhi based Sant Ishwar Foundation, in association with the Rashtriya Sewa Bharati, on November 14 felicitated 15 organisations and
individuals rendering exemplary
services to needy people in remote areas of the country. Lok Sabha Speaker Smt Sumitra Mahajan along with Gita Minishi Swami Gyananand, Sadhvi Vijaya Urmilesh of Chhattishgarh,
Shri Khairatilal Khanna and Shri Kapil Khanna presented the Puraskars in a function organised at the Civic Centre of Delhi. Scores of distinguished personalities including the RSS Akhil Bharatiya Sah Sewa Pramukh Shri Gunwant Singh Kothari, Akhil Bharatiya Sah Sampark Pramukh Shri Arun Kumar, etc were also present. The Vishishta Sewa Samman consists of citation, memento and cheque of Rs five lakh each, while the Sewa Sammans consists of citation, memento and a cheque of Rs one lakh each.
Smt Sumitra Mahajan described those who were honoured as Unsung Heroes. The Puraskars were presented in four categories. In first category i.e. Vanvasi areas, the Vishishta Sewa Samman was presented to Nagaland based Zeliang Gurang Heraka School, which is doing
an exemplary work of spreading
education among Naga people since 1983. The Sewa Samman in this
category was presented to Vivekananda Medical Mission, Kerala, Shri Taba Hare of Arunachal Pradesh and Shri Pendor Maharaj of Nagpur. Vivekanand Medical Mission is dedicated to ensuring medical and educational facilities in the Janjati areas, while Shri Taba Hare has dedicated himself to eradication of child marriage especially from the Nyishi Janjati
community of Arunachal Pradesh. Shri Pendor treats people through traditional methods and herbs.
In second category i.e. women and child development, Smt Jyoti Pathania of Pune, Sushri Bharati Thakur of Madhya Pradesh and Smt Harsha Shahoo of Raipur, Chhattisgarh, were honoured. Smt Pathania through Chaitanya Mahila Mandal makes women self-reliant, while Sushri Thakur through Nimad Abhyudaya Rural Management and Development Association (Narmada) is involved in overall development of people living in remote areas of Madhya Pradesh. Smt Harsha Sahoo has done exemplary work in imparting self-defence training to women in Chhattisgarh.
Under the third category i.e. rural development, Anwarpur Gram Vikas Samiti, Hapur, Uttar Pradesh was
honoured with Vishishta Sewa Samman for doing good work of rural
development in more than 100 villages of Western Uttar Pradesh. Others who were honoured in this category included Shri Dilip Kumar Nath of Sonitpur (Assam) for promoting organic farming, Shri Ramakrishna Trust of Bhuj (Gujarat) for promotion of gauvansh and Shri Girish Prabhune for overall upliftment and rehabilitation of Paradhi Community of Maharashtra.
Under the fourth category, Sathi Samaj Sewi Sanstha of Jagdalpur was honoured with Vishishta Sewa Samman for promoting indigenous art. Heritage Foundation of Guwahati for compiling the ancient history of Janjatis in Assam, Chaudhary Jagat Singh of Rudraprayag in Uttarakhand for environment
protection and Drishti Blind School of Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh for working for visually challenged people. n
