President meets bravery award winners

Twenty children, selected for this years bravery awards, today had a lifetime experience at the Rashtrapati Bhavan with President Pranab Mukherjee interacting with them and posing for a photograph.

'Bharat Award', the highest of the National Bravery Awards, winner Resham Fatima from Uttar Pradesh was among those awardees who met Mukherjee. The 16-year-old girl had fought her uncle and escaped while he was forcing her into a car and pouring acid over her head after she turned down his marriage proposal.

She was kidnapped by her uncle when she was on her way to her coaching class. The President met and spent time with the children listening to them besides posing with them for a photograph.

This year's Geeta Chopra award has been given to Gunjan Sharma from Assam. The Class VIII girl from Nazira in Sivasagar shot into national limelight after she volunteered to be taken away by kidnappers in exchange of 10 other school kids in the school bus.

The kidnappers had taken her away and released the other children. She, however, managed to flee from their captivity next morning. Devesh Kumar, 16, of Uttar Pradesh was selected for Sanjay Chopra award as he had displayed outstanding courage while confronting two chain-snatchers.

The scheme of National Awards for Bravery was started by the Indian Council for Child Welfare to give recognition to children who distinguish themselves by performing outstanding deeds of bravery and meritorious service and to inspire other children to emulate their example.

The winners have been invited to Delhi where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will present the awards on the eve of Republic Day. The children then take part in the Republic Day Parade.

Eight girls and 16 boys have been selected for this year's National Bravery Awards. Four of the awards have been given posthumously.

Rumoh Meto, 13, of Arunachal Pradesh, late Riya Chaudhary of Uttar Pradesh and late Monika of Uttarakhand have been given the Bapu Gaidhani Awards. Meto saved a person from electrocution.

Riya sacrificed her life while trying to save her father when some miscreants, who attacked her family members while Monika lost her life trying to save a child from drowning.

The other recipients who were at Rashtrapati Bhavan were Zeal Jitendra Marathe, Hiral Jitubhai Halpati (all from Gujarat), Sahanesh R (Karnataka), Ashwini Bandu Ughade
(Maharashtra), L Brainson Singh and G Tooldev Sharma (both from Manipur), Ripa Das (Tripura), Balram Dansena (Chhattisgarh), Rajdeep Das (Jharkhand), Anjith P, Aqil
Mohammad N K and Midhun PP (all from Kerala), Stevenson Lawriniang (Meghalaya), Mhonbeni Equng (Nagaland) and Labhanshu (Uttarakhand).

The selection was made by a high powered committee comprising representatives of various ministries/departments, non-governmental organisations, as well as office bearers of the Indian Council for Child Welfare.

The awardees receive a medal, certificate and cash. Eligible awardees will be granted financial assistance until they complete their schooling. Since the inception of the scheme in 1957, the ICCW has given awards to 895 brave children -- 634 boys and 261 girls.