Twenty-five-year-old Bijender Kahtana who is hearing impaired and holder of various awards in athletics, judo and basketball added yet another feather to his cap when on Saturday he along with 52 persons with varied type of disabilities was conferred with national awards by President Droupadi Murmu for their exemplary contribution in their respective fields.
Murmu, who presented the National Awards for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities for 2021 and 2022 here on the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, underlined the importance of education as a key to the empowerment of every individual, including persons with disabilities.
“There should be maximum use of technology in order to remove language related barriers in education and to make education more accessible to children with disabilities,” she said, adding that more than two per cent of India's population are persons with disabilities. “It is also our duty to ensure that they get a good education, stay safe in their homes and society, have the freedom to choose their career and have equal employment opportunities,” she said. Pooja Ojha, who suffers from 80 per cent locomotor disability is a para-canoe sportsperson, having represented India in Thailand, Hungary, Japan, and Canada was yet another sportsperson who was felicitated with the prestigious award. Similarly, Atul Jaiswal, 25, having 100 per cent hearing impairment since birth was conferred with the award for his accomplishments in the field of sports while another national awardee, a wheel-chair bound Goel, with locomotor disability has been raising issues related to the construction of ramps in government buildings in Lucknow.
Beating all odds, Pramod Dhar Dubey, (37) having intellectual disability presently assists in providing therapy under the supervision of a therapist, in recognition of which he was awarded by the President.
49-year old Sompura Himanshu Jayantilal, visually-impaired since birth, was honoured with the national award for Individual Excellence 2021 under the category 'Shrestha Divyangjan,' while the same award for similar category was taken away by Dr. Shubham Ramnarayan Dhoot, suffering with blood disorder hemophilia for his outstanding work in Ayurveda stream.
He has developed the world’s first Ayurvedic proprietary medicine named “Raktamrut” for blood disorders. Raktamrut helps in the treatment of hemophilia, leukemia , low hemoglobin due to an unknown factor and Raktapitta.
Similarly, Dr Vaibhav Bhandari, 33, who has muscular dystrophy (82 per cent) since birth was awarded in recognition of the social work done by him while Vaishnavi, suffering from locomotor disability of 72 per cent, was bestowed upon with the award for her outstanding work in empowerment of the sector and helping them develop skills.
Among organisations, Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust, Uttrakhand Open University, Balvantray Mehta Vidya Bhawan, and Accenture Solutions Pvt Ltd were awarded for their work towards people with disabilities.