PNS/ UTTARKASHI
An environmental activist Sumati Nautiyal from Bhetiyara village of Uttarkashi district was felicitated by Uttaranchal Mahila Sangathan in the presence of the former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and the vice-president of Sanskrit Sahitya Parishad Madhu Bhatt in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the cause of environment preservation and other fields of social service like education and health. As the secretary of Late Kaliram Smriti Foundation and a pioneer of Raksha Sutra movement, she
has done remarkable work for forest and water conservation in collaboration with the Himalayan Environmental Education Institute from 1994 to 2010. She played an important role in the formation of several organisations working for women and youth. After the Chipko movement, when the Raksha Sutra movement was launched, Nautiyal came forward as the first woman leader. She inspired thousands of women in villages under Dunda and Pratapnagar blocks to take a pledge to protect the forests by tying raksha sutra on trees. Apart from this, she ensured the participation of women organisations in the construction of over 400 ponds.
