Deepa Malik to receive M G Mehta Human Spirit award

Mumbai:  Rio Paralympics silver medalist Deepa Malik will be honoured with the ‘M G Mehta Human Spirit’ award, at a ceremony to be held here next month.

The award, which has been previously won by Padma Shri awardee Arunima Sinha, the first Indian woman amputee to scale Mount Everest in 2013, and paralympic cyclist Aditya Mehta, has been instituted by the Ratna Nidhi Trust.

“I look forward to receiving this award. Ratna Nidhi’s work for persons with disabilities has been massive and at a global scale. Their founder Mahendrabhai Mehta was a beacon of light. This award, in his memory is absolutely priceless,” Malik said in a statement issued here. Malik was honoured with the Padma Shri earlier this year and Arjuna Award in 2012.

“We chose Deepa Malik for the ‘M G Mehta Human Spirit’ award, for her exemplary achievements. We confer this every year around World Disability Day (observed on December 3) to a deserving individual who is a role model to persons with disabilities in India,” trustee of Ratna Nidhi Trust, Rajiv Mehta said.

The award will consists of a cash award of Rs 1 lakh and a citation. The award ceremony will be held on November 21 at the Y B Chavan Auditorium in south Mumbai.