Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways announces Olympic Medals Winner Manu Bhaker as their New Brand Ambassador

By Subrat Sarangi

New Delhi, Sept.17 : The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal announced that the Double Olympic Medal Winner in Shooting, Manu Bhaker, has been appointed as the Brand Ambassador for the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways today. The shooting ace, Bhaker, who won Medals in shooting in the recent Summer Olympics held at Paris, is the daughter of a Marine Engineer.

Speaking after the signing, the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal said, “It is a moment of great pride for every Indian as well as for every member of India’s maritime sector that Manu Bhaker, the daughter of a proud marine sailor, is now going to champion the marine sector of India as she has been officially signed as the Brand Ambassador of the Ministry today. Bhaker has made every Indian proud when she became the only person from our country to ever win two individual Olympic medals in an Olympics ever. Her achievement as a successful sportsperson stems from the fact that she spent her forming years in a family driven by the values of marine sector – of punctuality, discipline, perseverance and humility. Through her story, we want to reach out to the people of India, especially the youth, to tell them about the promising life that marine sector offers and how one can meaningfully contribute towards Bharat becoming Atmanirbhar by 2047, a wonderful vision of our Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji.”

The Union Minister Shri Sarbananda Sonowal also participated in an event to celebrate the vital deeds of women achievers from the maritime sector as well as other fields, which immensely contributed towards nation building. Shri Sonowal specially felicitated Lt Commander Vartika Joshi, First Women’s Skipper, Indian Crew of INSV Tarini; Sonali Banerjee, First Lady Marine Engineer in the history of Indian Mercantile Marine; Captain Teena Joey, General Manager, JM Baxi Group, Chennai Branch; Thulasimathi Murugesan, the winner of Silver Medal in Singles Badminton the Paris Paralympics; Manisha Ramadass, the winner of Bronze medal in Singles Badminton in the Paris Paralympics; and Rupali Raj Joshi, Surveyor, 1 STS Marine Components, Indian Registrar of Shipping, for their invaluable contribution towards nation building. The event was organised by the Chennai Port Authority in collaboration with Kamarajar Port Authority.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal said, “The Nari Shakti of Bharat has always been a tremendous source of power. Since the days of yore, we have been praying and celebrating the immense power and compassion that Nari Shakti bring to build a prosperous and vibrant society. I am delighted to meet some of the women achievers and felt immensely proud for what they have done for the cause of nation building. The women achievers not only bring a smile to the people, but they also give hope that nothing is impossible. As a human being, we have been blessed by Mother Nature with all the strength and it is upto us how we harness this great natural power towards a positive direction like nation building. Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, India is cruising ahead towards realising the vision of becoming an Atmanirbhar Bharat by 2047. We must do whatever needs to be done to realise this vision. The tales of these wonderful women will inspire scores of women and youth to pursue something that they feel passionate about and is able to make a meaningful contribution. I am sure as their stories are being told, over and again, our objective to power the vision of Modi ji will get another positive push and move us closer to realising the vision.”

Applauding the untiring effort of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to encourage sports, the Paris Paralympics Medal winner Thulasimathi Murugesan said, “I am very happy that our country has been performing well at the Paralympics. From 4 medals in Rio 2016 to 19 in Tokyo Olympics in 2020, to now 29 medals in the Paris Paralympics, this has been a remarkable feat for the athletes. I want to thank our honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji who has been steadfast in supporting us, which enabled us to perform well. From necessary nutrition to training, equipment, we have received fantastic support from the Government and I want to thank our Prime Minister for the mental encouragement. Prime Minister Sir’s personal involvement via interaction with the players motivated them to give that extra push. PM Sir also celebrated the success of Paris Paralympics with all the players which encouraged all of us but also future players training to participate in future sporting events.” 

Shri Sonowal also participated in the “Swachata Hi Seva 2024” to commemorate the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The drive was conducted after hundreds of employees joined the Minister in taking pledge towards cleanliness and sustainability at the Chennai Port Hospital. More than 400 saplings were also planned by the employees as part of the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam.’ More than 500 women participated in the “Harnessing Nari Shakti for the Development of the Nation” programme. The diverse group of participants consisted students from the Indian Maritime University (IMU), AMET University, and the Chennai Port Higher Secondary School apart from Chennai Port Authority and Kamarajar Port.

The event was also attended by TK Ramachandran, Secretary, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW); Dr Malini V Shankar, Vice Chancellor, Indian Maritime University (IMU); Sunil Paliwal, Chairman, Chennai Port Authority & Chairman, Kamarajar Port Limited; S Vishwanathan, Deputy Chairperson, Chennai Port Authority; JP Irene Canthia, Managing Director, Kamarajar Port Limited; among other senior officials of the ministry.