CM to honour acid attack survivors today
LUCKNOW: This Women’s Day, acid attack survivors will be felicitated and provided financial assistance. Around 40 survivors will be honoured with the Rani Laxmi Bai award at the hands of chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday. Other women achievers and change makers will also be felicitated on the occasion.
Among the bravehearts who will recognised on the day are Meena Soni and Kavita Banuri.
Meena, a mother of three in her forties, was attacked by her husband in 2004 . Since then, she has been bringing up her children single-handedly.
However, things are set to change for Meena and her children as the state government has decided to extend support in the form of a compensation of ` 3 lakh.
Kavita,24, who was attacked by a jilted lover in 2012, had to face the added pain of being shunned by her parents too. Fighting a lone battle all these years and struggling to make ends meet, Kavita will be given a much-needed aid of ` 5 lakh by the CM. Acid attack survivors from different parts of the state includ- ing Farrukhabad, Ghaziabad, Lakhimpur Kheri, Unnao, Bijnor, Kannauj, Shahjahanpur , Basti, Mathura, Fatehpur, Shamli, Agra, Meerut, Jaunpur, Raebareli and other places will be felicitated at the gathering.
Also among the awardees is Usha Vishwakarma of the Red Brigade, who has been working for the welfare of women, imparting self defence training on a large scale. Organisation Vatsalya, led by Dr Neelam Singh and a few gram pradhans will also be honoured on the occasion.
Café Sheroes hangout, to be run by acid attack survivors, will also be inaugurated in the city on Tuesday. In addition, Asha Jyoti Centres in 11 districts and 181 helpline will be launched on Women’s Day too along with the rescue vans associated with the centres. Lucknow’s Asha Jyoti Centre will be launched at the government hospital in Alambagh. A skill development centre in Chinhat will also be inaugurated.
Among the highlights of the day is a cycle rally in which women from across the state will participate. It will be flagged off by the chief minister from his residence and culminate at Lohia Park.