Page 41 - NIS English 16-31 February,2023

Padma Awards Nation
TULA RAM UPRETI: PADMA HIRABAI LOBI: SIDDI

SHRI AT THE AGE OF 98 FOR COMMUNITY LEADER AND
ORGANIC FARMING SOCIAL WORKER

Tula Ram Upreti, a Hirabai Lobi of Gir
resident of Pakyong Somnath district of
district of Sikkim, is being Gujarat will be given
awarded the Padma Shri the Padma Shri. She
for his incomparable has opened many
contribution in the field kindergartens to
of agriculture. Tularam, educate children in the
98, is a small farmer. tribal Siddi community.
He had an affinity for She established the
traditional farming Women's Development
since childhood. That's why he adopted such Foundation in 2004, through which she
methods that more crops could be harvested. is working to make women self-reliant by
He engaged in organic farming for better doing sewing work and opening grocery
crop production and nutritious produce with stores. By listening to the radio, she learned
environmental protection. When he gained the method of making organic fertilizers
popularity, he also started giving training in and started working in that direction. So
natural farming. Thanks to the hard work of far, about a dozen cooperative societies
farmers like Tularam Upreti, dependence on have been started.
chemicals in Sikkim's agriculture sector has
come down drastically.

SNAKE CATCHERS VADIVEL MUNISHWAR CHANDER
GOPAL AND MASI SADAIYAN DAWAR: LENDING A

HONOURED WITH PADMA SHRI HELPING HAND TO POOR

Vadivel Gopal and Masi Dr. Munishwar Chandra
Sadaiyan are experts in Dawar, retired from the
catching dangerous snakes army, is called the 'God'
from the Irula tribe. They of the poor on earth by
have been selected for the people of Madhya
the Padma Award in the Pradesh. In this era of
category of Social Work inflation, patients are
(Animal Welfare). They have treated at a nominal
traveled to other parts of fee of Rs 20. It has
the world for snake catching and training snake been announced to give
catchers. They use indigenous techniques of Padma Shri to Munishwar Chandra Dawar
catching snakes inherited from their ancestors. for his service to society. During the 1971
They have demonstrated the skill of catching Indo-Pak war he treated many jawans during
snakes in many countries including America, his posting in Bangladesh. After taking early
Thailand. In 2017, the duo went to Florida on behalf retirement at the end of the war, he started his
of the University of Florida for the Python Detection practice in Jabalpur in 1972. He started the
Pilot Project, where they surprised everyone by treatment with a fee of just Rs 2.
catching more than 27 pythons.

New India Samachar February 16-28, 2023 39