24 children to receive 'National Bravery Awards' for 2006

New Delhi, Jan 18 (UNI) Six-year-old Pooja, who saved her two younger brothers after her house was set on fire, despite her mother being stabbed to death in front of her, is among 24 children, including 12 girls, to receive the 'National Bravery Awards' for 2006, three of which would be conferred posthumously.

Quaint, shy and soft spoken Pooja Kabadwal broke the age barrier to grow into an adult and wipe off her tears, right in front of her dead mother, and rush to save her two siblings -- three and one-and-a-half years of age -- from the raging fire set by the intruder who had come to steal.

Matured beyond her years, today she is the toast of the nation -- as the youngest to receive the National Bravery Awards and surprisingly does not harbour any ambition to become a 'police' when she grows up.

All she remembers of that dreary night is pulling down the latchet of the room window and quietly sneaking out with her two brothers and waiting for the dawn to happen before she could seek any help, but not before pulling away all the clothes from the place of fire to stop it from spreading further.

Besides her, while thirteen-and-a-half-year-old Vandana Yadav (Uttar Pradesh) receives the prestigious Geeta Chopra Award for braving 17 stab wounds while fending off attackers, the Sanjay Chopra Award goes to V Teja Sai (12) and C V S Durga Doondieswar (13) of Andhra Pradesh (both posthumously) for saving four of their school mates from drowning in a river.

Another 'star' of the day was Ankita Bhosale (nearly seven years) who saved two women from drowning by throwing a saree towards them and pulling them out from the river.

All this while her brother, mother and two aunts sank right in front of her eyes in Urmodi river. The three had jumped to save her brother who had slipped into the deep waters by accident.

The recepients of the Bapu Gayadhani Awards were Asma Ayyub Khan (13 - Maharashtra) who helped shift about 40 children of her school to a place of safety during Mumbai floods, Sushila Gurjar (13 - Rajasthan) for revolting against child marriage and Shilpa Janbandhu (15 - Chhattisgarh) for joining the anti-naxal programme.

Among the the other recepients, who will receive the annual awards from the Prime Minister on January 24 and participate in the Republic Day Parade, four are from Rajasthan, three from Maharashtra, two from Madhya Pradesh and Chhattishgarh and one each from Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Delhi, Punjab, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Kerala.

Initiated in 1957 by the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW), the 'National Bravery Awards' has till date been conferred on 710 children, including 198 girls.

UNI