By Sunil Sonker
Mussoorie, 14 Apr: The birth anniversary of Babasaheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar was celebrated at Ambedkar Chowk here, today, under the auspices of the Bhartiya Dalit Sahitya Akademi, Mussoorie. The programme began with garlanding of Baba Saheb’s statue, here, by Cabinet Minister Ganesh Joshi, former MLA Jot Singh Gunsola, former Municipal President Manmohan Mohan Singh Mall, former Municipal President OP Uniyal, Academy President Sunil Sonker and other guests. Hundreds of people gathered to garland the statue and raised slogans of ‘Baba Saheb Amar Rahe’.
On this auspicious occasion, people who have done excellent work in education, health, social and cultural fields were awarded the ‘Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Fellowship Award’ by the Academy. Two students, each, of 8 schools were awarded the ‘Late Radheshyam Sonkar Memorial Award and Scholarship’ for excelling in their studies.
Minister Joshi said that Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar was not just a jurist, economist, politician, but also a social reformer. He said that there is a need to implement the thoughts and principles of Baba Bhimrao Ambedkar on the ground. He described Babasaheb as a boon for the country. He appealed for the sense of ‘we’ to rise above ‘I’ through discharge of duties towards society. He also claimed that PM Modi is fulfilling the dreams of Babasaheb Ambedkar. He said that, at the call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, multi-purpose camps were being held for the Divyang in the entire country on the birth anniversary of Ambedkar. In Mussoorie, wheelchairs, tricycles, sticks, eye glasses, hearing aids were provided free of cost in such a camp at Mahatma Yogeshwar Shishu Mandir, here.
Former MLA Jot Singh Gunsola and former municipal president Manmohan Singh Mall said that it was the spirit of Babasaheb that urged people to struggle, be organised, and be educated. Taking birth in a poor and downtrodden family, Babasaheb proved that with determination, hard work and courage, a person can achieve the most difficult goals. His life was full of struggles. With his high morale, he succeeded in overcoming every obstacle in life and uniting the country.
Those awarded the Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Fellowship Award by the Academy, today, were Government Inter College, Tehri Garhwal, Principal Anil Singh Rangad, Mussoorie Covid Incharge Dr Pradeep Rana, Mussoorie Sub-District Hospital Gynecologist Dr Shaili Singh, Mussoorie Municipaly Health Officer Abhas Singh, Sub District Hospital Senior Nurse Officer Elvina Francis, Sub District Hospital, Environment friends Sarita Devi and Anil Kumar, Pankaj Agarwal for Garhwali cuisine and culture, Anil Goyal for development of Landour market, constable Pradeep Giri for excellent police work and Sudesha Saini for social work .
Among those present on the occasion were BJP Mussoorie President Mohan Petwal, General Secretary Kushal Rana, Satish Dhodiyal, Member Sarita Panwar, Geeta Kumai, Jasoda Sharma, Dhan Prakash Agarwal, Member Arvind Semwal, Madan Mohan Sharma, Ramesh Kanojia, Dharampal Panwar, Amit Bhatt, Chandrakala Sayana, Anita Saxena, Promila Negi, Kavita Sonkar, Akademi General Secretary Rampal Bharti, Treasurer Salim Ahmed, Senior Vice President Arvind Sonkar, Deepak Baswal, Ashish Kanojia, Anil Singh Annu, Abhilash, Sapna Sharma, Vinod, Abhay Banswal, Sawan Kanojia, Ajay Sodiyal, Kunal, Gagan Kanojia, and many others.
