A ceremony organized to mark the completion of 10 years of the monthly magazine ‘Uttarjan Today’ served as a platform for deliberations on social reconstruction and development. Speaking as the Chief Guest at the event, Dr. R. Rajesh Kumar—Secretary of the Housing and State Estates Department—outlined the government’s various schemes, noting that significant improvements have been witnessed in the health, communication, and infrastructure sectors over the past four years. The government remains steadfast in its resolve to ensure that the benefits of development reach the farthest corners of even the most remote border villages, and to ensure that this decade truly belongs to Uttarakhand.
On this occasion, the following major awards were conferred:
• **Lifetime Achievement Award:** Presented to Arjuna Awardee Captain Padam Bahadur Mall—who secured India’s first-ever gold medal in boxing at the 1962 Asian Games—and to the renowned orthopedic specialist, Dr. Jayant Nawani.
• **Uttarakhand Gaurav Award:** Twenty distinguished personalities from diverse fields (including scientist Dr. Hemant Pandey, neurosurgeon Dr. Mahesh Kudiyal, among others) were honored with the ‘Uttarakhand Gaurav’ award, while 35 other individuals received special commendations.
The Guest of Honor, Banshidhar Tiwari—Additional Secretary to the Chief Minister—emphasized the importance of instilling moral values in children and preserving local dialects and languages. The event also featured addresses by Tehri ADM Shailendra Singh Negi and Dr. Ashutosh Sayana, Principal of Srinagar Medical College, both of whom lauded the government’s public welfare initiatives
