13 women of Uttarakhand were honored with Teelu Rauteli Award 2023-24, 72-year-old Shakuntala and Vinita shared their experiences

Every year, the Uttarakhand government honours women doing excellent work in various fields with the Teelu Rauteli Award. Veerangana Teelu Rauteli was born on 8 August. In her memory, every year women and adolescents doing excellent work are honoured with the Teelu Rauteli Award district-wise.

Veeranganas of Uttarakhand get Teelu Rauteli Award

In the same sequence, 13 women selected for the year 2023-24 were honoured with the Teelu Rauteli Award. Along with this, 32 Anganwadi workers doing better work in their respective fields were also honoured. Among the 13 bravehearts honored with the Teelu Rauteli Award, Dr. Madhuri Barthwal for her excellent work in the field of Garhwali folk singing, Geeta Gairola, Shakuntala Datal and Reena Uniyal in the social sector, Sonia Arya in the field of literature, Preeti Goswami, Neha Deoli, Sangeeta Rana, Ankita Dhyani in the field of sports and Nanddeep Kaur in para badminton were honored. Similarly, Vinita Devi for adventure work, Narmada Devi Rawat in the field of handicrafts as well as Sudha Pal in the field of science were awarded the Teelu Rauteli Award under the financial year 2023-24.

Shakuntala Datal remains an inspiration even at the age of 72

While talking, Shakuntala Datal, who was awarded the Teelu Rauteli Award, said that she is a social worker. She lives in the border village of Pithoragarh district. She has done a lot of work in the social sector. Along with vaccination campaign, collecting money, tree plantation campaign, she is also working to make women aware. She also said that she has done the work of getting old age pension, widow pension and money to farmers from her own resources. While doing social work, she also stepped into politics, so she has also held many posts in the Congress party. Shakuntala said that at the age of 72, she has been awarded the Teelu Rauteli Award, due to which she is happy but the women around her are also very happy.

Vineeta saved her mother-in-law’s life from leopard

At the same time, Vinita Devi, a resident of Rudraprayag district, said that on 27 June 2024, she had gone to the forest with her mother-in-law to collect grass. During this time, the leopard attacked her mother-in-law. In such a situation, she fought with the leopard to save her mother-in-law. During this, the leopard also attacked her and she also got injured. But in front of her courage, the leopard also had to retreat. In such a situation, seeing this courage of Vinita Devi, the Uttarakhand government has honored her with the Teelu Rauteli Award today. Giving a message to the women, Vinita Devi said that when they go to the forests, at least 8-10 women should go together and make their own arrangements for safety.

Rekha Arya described 8 August as special

Women Empowerment and Child Development Minister Rekha Arya said that 8 August is a very special day. On this day, the state’s brave woman Teelu Rauteli was born. Veerangana Teelu Rauteli is a symbol of courage and bravery in herself. In such a situation, women who do excellent work in the name of Teelu Rauteli’s bravery are honored with the Teelu Rauteli Award. In this sequence, one brave woman in each district who has done excellent work even in adverse circumstances has been selected and honored. Along with this, 32 Anganwadi workers who did better work in various projects were also honored. In such a situation, in future also the rest of the Anganwadi workers will also take inspiration from them and do better work.