Jammu, Jan 20:  Inspired by the ‘Start Up’ scheme, girls in the bordering belt of Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir have set up a bakery named as ‘Lam Bakery’ and overnight have become famous across the region for the delicate cakes sold to people.
The bakery is located just 4 Km from Line of Control in Lam sector of Naushera—which is one of the remotest yet historically significant villages in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Supported by Aseem foundation and Indian Army, these gritty girls have shown their cooking skill by preparing handcrafted and delicately made cakes and cookies at the Bakery.

“Despite the challenges of border village, four local girls have taken up a challenge for self-employment and they have taken upon themselves to take the bull by its horns, and not let their situation pull them down; rather use it as a springboard to touch the sky,” said a senior Army officer.

The girls namely Meenakshi Rani, Tarjinder Kaur, Priya Saini and Seema Devi, have started selling these bakery products in nearby areas and have become self-reliant in both running this bakery and also at their home, he said.

“Out of them, Meenakshi and Tarjinder are married with young children, wherein they fulfill all their responsibilities as pillars of their families besides working at the bakery,” the officer told UNI.

He stated that Seema and Priya are the young guns who have been the engine of this entire endeavor with their ‘Never Give Up’ attitude and relentless energy.

On Dec 22, last year, Meenakshi and Priya Saini were felicitated by the Chief of Army Staff General M M Naravane for their contribution towards women empowerment in border villages at a function held at Pune.

UNI