Mumbai: Marking the 74th Republic Day celebrations, several events were held in Mumbai honouring the Indian armed forces for their contributions to the nation.
Three disabled soldiers who participated in the International Wheelchair Games, Portugal in November 2022, were felicitated along with 25 wounded jawans of the Indian Army by Lt.Gen. H.S. Kahlon, GOC, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa, along with the Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts & Sangeetha Sabha.
The disabled trio comprised Havildar Gopal Singh from Parachute Regiment Special Forces bagged a gold medal in the Para Javelin and a bronze medal in Para Shot Put events; Lance Naik Abhijit Patil from the Artillery Regiment won a bronze medal Para Shotput, while Sepoy Prakash Pingale finished 6th in the same event.
They were presented with a shawl, garland and cash prize of Rs 1,00,000 each by Lt Gen. Kahlon and his wife Harkiran, with top officials like the Sabha President Dr V. Shankar and others present.
The Aditya Birla World Academy’s Head of IB in Mumbai, Shalini John led a students’ delegation from higher KG to Grade 11 to meet soldiers, presented them specially designed cards with heartwarming messages to express gratitude and appreciation to the jawans for their sacrifices to the nation, said Aditya Birla Education Trust Chairperson Dr Neerja Birla.
Mumbai’s renowned danceuse and Odissi exponent Shubhada Varadkar was honoured with a ‘Kala Sarthi Award’ at the hands of actress Hema Malini and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at his Bengaluru ashram.
–IANS