Patil turns 75, celebrates her birthday with children

New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI) Indian President Pratibha Patil
turned 75 Saturday and celebrated her birthday with
differently abled children besides over 400 visitors from
across the country, including 51 orphans from Naxal-hit
central state of Chhattisgarh, who had come to the sprawling
Rashtrapati Bhavan to wish her.

The day started with visits by Vice President Hamid
Ansari and his wife, Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian
Parliament) Speaker Meira Kumar and the three service chiefs
along with their spouses wishing her. Patil, who celebrated
her third birthday as President, cut a cake amidst children
with special needs who performed at a cultural programme
organised by Tamana Association.
In her address at the silver jubilee celebrations of the
organisation, Patil cited examples of Tom Whittaker, who
climbed Mount Everest with a prosthetic leg in 1998 and
acclaimed music composer Beethoven, who turned deaf, besides
others and said every effort must be taken to empower and
integrate children with special needs in the society.
"Apart from ensuring that assistive devices are available
easily and at affordable prices, science and technology must
be used for the development of more user friendly systems for
empowerment, rehabilitation and integration," she said.
Patil said, "In my own life, I often recall the hard work
and the effort that was required while working first as a
lawyer and then in public life. Throughout this time, it was
the values of perseverance and commitment that have been my
guide." MORE PTI SAP
ANU


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