Odisha's environmental crusader gets 'Nari Shakti Puraskar' from President

Bhubaneswar: Friend of farmers and environmental crusader, Sabarmatee Tiki of Bhubaneswar received the prestigious 'Nari Shakti Puraskar' from the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind at a special function held in Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on the occasion of International Women's Day.

Sabarmatee Tiki, a scholar, conservationist and founder of NGO Sambhav has been relentlessly working with local communities for restoration of forests and regeneration of wasteland.

According to sources, Sabarmatee has converted 90 acres of barren land into jungles and played a crucial role in conserving and producing 452 indigenous varieties of rice.

Sabarmatee has studied the adverse effects of manual labour on the bodies of women who work in the rice fields and has adopted and promoted a method called SRI which is less painful for women who do field work. Her NGO also trains farmers, students and local Government officials and has developed innovative agricultural tools for organic farming.

The awards were conferred on 30 eminent individuals and nine distinguished institutions in recognition of their efforts in rendering distinguished services for the cause of women, especially vulnerable and marginalized women.

The winners of the 'Nari Shakti Puraskar' have been chosen from diverse fields including sports, social work, science, art, agriculture, education, environment conservation, security, handicrafts and defence, officials of Women and Child Development ministry said.

Speaking on the occasion, the Women & Child Development minister, Maneka Gandhi said that the Government is working relentlessly for the empowerment of women in the country.