Odisha’s ‘Best From Waste’ Champion Kamala Moharana Gets R-Day Parade Invite

Bhubaneswar: Kamala Moharana, who shot to prominence after being praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for her efforts to transform lives of rural women in his Mann Ki Baat programme, has received an invite to attend the Republic Day parade in New Delhi.

PM Modi had lauded the 66 year-old, who leads a self-help group (SHG) that she established in 2016, for transforming waste into artistic creations in the 98th episode of Mann Ki Baat on February 26 last year. Later at a poll meeting on May 29, 2024, he even touched her feet in admiration of her work.

The central government has arranged flight tickets for Kamala and her son, Mahendra, to attend the event in the national capital.

A resident of Khairabad village on Kendrapada, she has been making baskets, pen stands, mobile phone stands, flower pots, hand fans, wall hangings and other items from waste materials and now now helping around 50 women earn a living. “My life changed dramatically the day the PM praised my work in ‘Mann Ki Baat’. Now I am eagerly waiting to attend the Republic Day parade in New Delhi and meet the PM,” she was quoted as saying.