Men and women who have fought visual impairment and stigma were felicitated at an auditorium in the city on Friday.
Two women who were part of the Indian squad in the Blind Football World Championships in the UK in August this year, were among the awardees.
The owner of a nursery, a man on a mission for a greener future, was also awarded.
The last awardee was an institution, a school for the visually impaired in Asansol.
The Disha Samman, accorded by Disha Eye Hospitals, recognises the struggles of the sightless. The sixth edition of the awards ceremony was held at GD Birla Sabhaghar.
The footballers, Sangita Metya, 30, and Pratima Ghosh, 22, received the loudest cheers from the audience.
The two were part of the Indian team that finished fourth at the Blind Football World Championships, organised by the International Blind Sports Federation in Birmingham between August 14 and 27.
In blind football, the ball makes a jingling sound.
Metya hails from East Midnapore’s Panskura. Born with more than 70 per cent blindness, Metya first played soccer in 2018 at an exhibition match at Rabindra Bharati University. She hasn’t looked back since.
An attacking player, she has represented the state and the east zone before.
“I was nervous during the first few minutes of the first match. I was playing for my country on foreign soil for the first time. But I settled down soon,” she told The Telegraph.
Her father is an agricultural labourer but is too frail to work now. The family depends on support from her elder brother who is married and lives separately.
“I want to have a steady income to support my family. I love football but income is more likely from other avenues. I am trained to become a teacher,” said Metya, who has completed a master’s degree and a BEd programme.
Her parents initially had reservations about her playing football. “But when they saw my performance on a screen, they changed their opinion,” she said.
Ghosh, from Krishnagar in Nadia, was part of the squad but was in the reserves.
“I will practise hard and make it to the team next time,” said Ghosh, who is pursuing her master’s in Bengali from Nabadwip Vidyasagar College. In her free time, she loves reading and listening to Nazrul Islam.
Joykrishna Barik, 31, calls himself an “agriculturist”. His eyes lost vision in a freak accident he suffered when he was 13 years old. He fell from a tree and sharp twigs pierced his eyes.
He had to leave formal education and enroll in a vocational course — that taught basics of poultry, pisciculture and gareding — at the Ramakrishna Mission Blind Boys’ Academy in Narendrapur.
The training and his interest in plants led him to open a nursery. The unit in Contai, East Midnapore, now supplies plants and saplings to many organisations and individuals.
Barik employs three men who are not visually impaired. “But they need my supervision to take care of the plants,” he said.
Asansol Braille Academy, a free residential school for the visually impaired, was also awarded on Friday.
The school, set up in 2004, is a beacon of hope for around 30 students, not only from West Burdwan but neighbouring districts of Birbhum, Bankura and even the neighbouring state of Jharkhand.
Each winner received a plaque and a cash prize of Rs 50,000.
“It is our privilege to present the accolades to such real-life heroes who despite challenges rose above all the odds with their sheer determination and unending handwork. We also acknowledge the efforts of organisations who act as a beacon of light for the visually impaired,” said Debasish Bhattacharya, chairman and managing director, Disha Eye Hospitals.
Pradeep Vyas, former principal chief conservator of forests in Bengal, and singer Usha Uthup were among those present at the programme.
