Sat Paul Mittal National Awards: Exemplary contributions towards betterment of society recognised

To felicitate residents and organisations from across India for their contributions towards the betterment of society, the Nehru Sidhant Kender Trust announced the Sat Paul Mittal National Awards- 2021 during a virtual event on Tuesday

To felicitate residents and organisations from across India for their contributions towards the betterment of society, the Nehru Sidhant Kender Trust announced the Sat Paul Mittal National Awards- 2021 during a virtual event on Tuesday.

President of the trust and vice-chairman of Bharti Enterprises, Rakesh Bharti Mittal, participated in the Sat Paul Mittal National Awards. (HT file)

President of the trust and vice-chairman of Bharti Enterprises, Rakesh Bharti Mittal, participated in the event and retired IPS officer and former lieutenant governor of Puducherry, Kiran Bedi, was the chief guest. The winners were presented with a total cash prize of ₹12 lakh and were felicitated with citations for the Sat Paul Mittal National Awards and the Sat Paul Mittal Appreciation Awards in individual and institutional categories.

The award in the individual category was given to Chandrakali Markam from Madhya Pradesh and Karimul Haque from West Bengal. Chandrakali Markam was born in a poor Adivasi family and married off at the tender age of 11. She pulled her family out of poverty through her small self-help group (SHG) savings. She grew the turnover of her SHG’s federation to thousands of crores and encouraged women from landless families to think of businesses like mushroom cultivation and promote village ventures.

Karimul Haque used the setback of losing his mother due to lack of ambulance facility, as a vow to not let anyone in his village suffer due to the same problem. Popularly known as bike-ambulance-dada, he has since 1998 provided ambulance facility to over 20 villages and has ferried thousands of patients in and around Dhalabri, free of cost. He is also a Padma Shri awardee.

The award in the institutional category was conferred to Gram Vikas of Odisha, which was established as an NGO in 1979, with a mission to enable rural communities to lead a dignified life. It is working towards building capabilities of village communities, strengthening community institutions and mobilising resources with the aim to make communities self-sufficient.

The appreciation award in the individual category was conferred on Dr Yoga Sreelesh Nambiar from Mumbai, who is India’s first transgender with a PhD in Mental Health, a classical dancer, social reformer and an orator. Nambiar vowed to work for the welfare of the transgender community and create an environment of respect and dignity.

In the institutional category, the appreciation award was given to the LEPRA Society of Hyderabad, which is an NGO that promotes quality health care, initiates and fosters new developments and implementation. With operations across 10 states, its key focus areas include leprosy and lymphatic filariasis (LF) and also works with TB, HIV/AIDS, eye care and Covid 19 services.

Mittal and Bedi congratulated the winners and applicants. Mittal said, “The Nehru Sidhant Kender Trust has been supporting the disadvantaged sections of society with a special focus on education. I congratulate all the winners and applicants and hope that they inspire others to diligently work towards upliftment of weaker sections of society. The transformational work done by these individuals and organisations will go a long way in promoting inclusive growth in communities across the country.”