Padma Shri Sindhutai Sapkal laid to rest in Pune
New Delhi: The last rites of social worker Dr. Sindhutai Sapkal were performed with State honours on Wednesday in the Thosar Paga crematorium, Pune.
The burial took place according to the Mahanubhava Panth sect rituals. Several dignitaries, senior Pune administration officials, and citizens attended the burial ceremony.
The mother of orphans succumbed to a heart attack in a Pune hospital on Tuesday, January 4, 2022. She was 73 years old.
The late Padma Shri awardee looked after more than 1000 orphans in the Sanmati Bal Niketan Sanstha, where authorities kept the body before the last rites. She looked after more than 1000 children in the orphanage.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray were among those who paid tribute to Maai.
President Kovind took to Twitter and wrote, “The life of Dr. Sindhutai Sapkal was an inspiring saga of courage, dedication, and service. She loved and served orphaned, tribals, and marginalised people. Conferred with Padma Shri in 2021, she scripted her own story with incredible grit.”
“Dr. Sindhutai Sapkal will be remembered for her noble service to society. Due to her efforts, many children could lead a better quality of life. She also did a lot of work among marginalised communities. I am pained by her demise. Condolences to her family and admirers. Om Shanti,” Modi tweeted.
(Avya Mathur)
