Srinagar, October 15: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday shared the inspiring journey of women entrepreneurs and highlighted the efforts of the Administration to create an enabling environment for women entrepreneurship and realize their true potential in this month’s, 31st edition of “Awaam ki Awaaz” programme.

Extending his heartiest greeting on the auspicious occasion of Navratri, the Lt Governor reiterated the commitment of the J&K Government towards empowerment of women and gender equality

“Goddess Durga is a symbol of women empowerment. May the festival of Navratri inspire us to work for the well-being and progress of Nari Shakti, and build a gender-equal society”, the Lt Governor said.

Rabiya Rasool, an entrepreneur from Srinagar and owner of ‘Carpets’ enterprise is a symbol of conviction, commitment, dedication and indomitable courage. She is also reviving the traditional Ardabil style of carpets which will inspire and motivate other young entrepreneurs, the Lt Governor said.

He appreciated Sanchaita Pradhan Khajuria and Mansi Gupta for their endeavours to strengthen the unique cultural and artistic heritage of J&K. Sanchaita is promoting Basohli and Bina art through her company ‘Shilpkari Bazar Business’. She is an immense source of inspiration and motivation to all women, he said.

Mansi Gupta is an agent of change and inspiring other women to become architects of their own destiny. Her company, MG Design Studio is making dedicated efforts to revive the Calico painting art of Samba, the Lt Governor added.

HAUSLA programme is one of the key initiatives of the UT Administration which are helping the women entrepreneurs to rise and excel. It helped many women like Zariefa Hamid, Shivani Sharma and Sanyokta Bhagat to learn the value of the e-commerce market and build upon their business ideas, the Lt Governor said.

The support and assistance extended to Zariefa Hamid have enabled her company Misal Embroidery manufacturing Pashmina Shawl to get global clientele. Shivani Sharma now manages the operations of her pre-school digitally. With innovative ideas, she is redefining the business and operating models, he said.

Sanyokta Bhagat from RS Pura with her indomitable courage overcame many challenges to find her place in the garment sector, he added.

The Lt Governor made a special mention of the Khushi cluster federation from block Ghordi, Udhampur which is planning to go global with the launch of pine handicraft on e-commerce platforms. He said, this will ensure better remunerative marketing linkages for the products of the highly talented artisans, craftsmen and small enterprises of Udhampur.

He commended Zeenat Mushtaq for her pivotal contribution to J&K’s business ecosystem. Zeenat now aims to participate in national and international expos so that the marketing experience and business values she has gained can be imparted to the next generation.

The Lt Governor voiced the valuable suggestions received from Srinagar’s Sheikh Mohd Saleem, Sankarshan from Samba and Mushtaq Ahmed Lone from Budgam to promote cooperative societies, efficiency of Cooperative Consumer Federation and Primary Agriculture credit societies and making the Swachh Abhiyan a Jan Abhiyan.

He also shared the inputs of Arnab Khajuria from Jammu, Rajouri’s Mohammad Aslam, Abhinav Bhatti from Samba and Jammu’s Rhythm Sharma pertaining to the promotion of Khadi, empowerment and mainstreaming of the street vendors, and directed the concerned departments and officers to take necessary action on the valuable suggestions received.

The Lt Governor urged the citizens to buy local products and support Self-Help Groups, potters, small manufacturers and sellers during festival season