Karnal’s Kalpana Chawla to be honoured at Haryana Pravasi Divas

Kalpana Chawla, the first woman of Indian origin to go to space, will be posthumously awarded the Special Achievement Award on January 11 at the first Haryana Pravasi Divas. Her father, BL Chawla, will receive the award.

Chawla, who was born in Karnal, was one of the seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster in 2003. She will be awarded for her achievements in the field of science. Apart from her, 18 noted personalities of Haryanvi origin will also be awarded the Haryana Gaurav Samman at the event, said a government spokesperson.

The Haryana Pravasi Divas is the first event for non-resident Indians of Haryanvi origin and is being held to connect them with their roots and draw them to invest in the state. The state government has collaborated with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the two-day event scheduled to be held at Kingdom of Dreams on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Two villages of Haryana – Sui in Bhiwani district and Dangra in Fatehabad district – have been adopted by NRIs Jagmohan Jindal and Gaurav Aggarwal respectively for philanthropic activities. Jindal and Aggarwal will interact with the villagers through videoconferencing at the event, the spokesperson said.

Deputy commissioners, police heads and district public relations officers would also join the video conference.

Non-resident Haryanvis who are doing or are planning to take up philanthropic activities in any part of the state would also be honoured in the valedictory function on January 11. Some memorandums of understanding (MoUs) for investment are also expected to be signed in the event, said the spokesperson.

Among others, the event will be attended by sportspersons Deepa Malik, Vijender Singh, Akhil Kumar, Jitender Kumar, Sangram Singh, Dalip Singh Rana (The Great Khali), Yogeshwar Dutt, Sakshi Malik, Geeta Phogat, Babita Phogat, Anjum Chopra, Kapil Dev, Chetan Sharma and Joginder Sharma.

Apart from chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and some state ministers, Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, General (Retd) VK Singh, Smriti Irani, Birender Singh, Krishan Pal Gurjar, Narendra Singh Tomar, Prakash Javadekar and Ravi Shankar Prasad are also expected to attend the event.