Kupwara, Jan 24 (KNS): Amid the bone chilling cold, the girls in North Kashmir's Kupwara district stitch national flags ahead of the republic Day in a skill center namely "Vajra" started by the Indian Army.
India will be celebrating its 74th Republic Day on 26 Jan this year. As this year is being celebrated as Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, it has brought about a wave of celebration in the country as India assumes the G20 presidency.
After seeing the positive response of Har Ghar Tiranga campaign which was launched by the Government of India to encourage every citizen of our great nation to bring home the tricolour and hoist it with pride on 75th independence Day, women and young girls in the Kupwara District of North Kashmir are determined to celebrate Republic Day even in Harsh weather conditions.
Vajra Cutting and Tailoring centre was established by the Indian Army in a remote village of Dardpura, which is also known as ‘Village of Widows’ due to its history of militancy.
The centre is aimed at developing cutting and tailoring skills to the village folk to make them self-reliant and to promote entrepreneurial skills.
The 30 young girls who are presently learning the skills are stitching National flags enthusiastically as they have received demands of National flags from various places in Kupwara district.
These girls are contributing towards the nation’s efforts and volunteered to stitch Tiranga for the houses of these remote areas and are distributing to each and every house in the village.
They are coming to centre even during snowfall, shows their love for the Tiranga. The Indian Army has taken cue from the Govt’s Skill India Mission and provided them with all necessary assistance in terms of machines and sponsoring their training.
The Army has given them an initial foothold to boost their self-confidence that with their skills, passion and hard work, these girls can become self-reliant. As of now, 5000-6000 National Flags have been stitched by different Vajra Skill Centres in Kupwara district.
The residents appreciated the efforts of Indian Army and have pledged to hoist the flags high at their houses. Tiranga fluttering high in all houses in Village like Dardpura is a matter of pride and sign of positive change in the Kashmir Valley after abrogation of Article 370.
Naseema Bano (Trainer of the centre) told, “I’m the trainer here; we’ve been working here for 15 days and we have stitched 300 flags and we are grateful to the Indian Army camp at Panzgam for this opportunity to serve the nation by stitching National Flags and to support our households.(KNS)