JASAILMER: Barmer’s border village sarpanch Bhuri Devi, who has played a significant role in border management, rural development and water conservation, is set to be honoured at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. She is among five social workers from different border regions of the country who have been invited as special guests to the ‘At Home’ reception hosted at Rashtrapati Bhavan to mark Independence Day.Bhuri Devi, the sarpanch of Hathla village in Barmer district, left for Delhi with her son on Thursday. She will fly from Jodhpur to New Delhi. She will attend the ‘At Home’ reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan and will also participate in the national Independence Day programme at the Red Fort.As part of the special programme, Bhuri Devi will also visit the Prime Minister’s Museum, India Gate, the National War Memorial and the National Police Memorial.She was specially invited on the recommendation of the Home Department for her contribution to improving border management and development in the strategically important western border region. Bhuri Devi is the only sarpanch from Rajasthan among the five invitees.The other four invitees are Didom Daimari from Assam, recognised for social service and entrepreneurship; Jagbahadur Prasad from Bihar, a social worker; Tashi Namgyal from Ladakh, a social worker; and Mihir Ranjan Nath from Tripura, recognised for self-employment initiatives.Speaking ahead of her Delhi visit, Bhuri Devi said she was extremely happy and grateful to the Central Government. She said the opportunity to meet and be honoured by the President was nothing short of a dream come true.“I am the first sarpanch from my family. I had never met a Chief Minister, Governor or minister before. I had never even imagined that I would get an opportunity to meet the President,” she said.Despite being uneducated, Bhuri Devi said she made education a priority in her gram panchayat and worked to ensure that government schemes related to water, education and livestock reached people in every hamlet.Hathla is a border village with challenging geographical conditions. Bhuri Devi has worked alongside the Border Security Force and the local administration on border management and rural development, particularly in the area of water conservation.Residents of the border village have welcomed her selection, describing it as a matter of pride for Hathla and the entire Barmer district.Former sarpanch Ambadan and former sarpanch-cum-Gram Vikas Adhikari Suresh Kumar, along with other villagers, said the invitation was a major honour for the border community.Her participation in the Rashtrapati Bhavan reception and the national Independence Day celebrations is being seen as recognition of the contribution of grassroots representatives working in India’s remote border areas.
