Atluri Sasikala, secretary of the Lions Club of Ramagundam Maguva, has been honoured with the Award of Merit for her service to society. The prestigious award was presented at a Lions Club International Multiple District-320 ceremony held in Hyderabad.

The honour was handed over by T Rajeshwara Prasad, chairman of the Lions Club International Council. The event recognised several people from across Telangana who have been serving their communities without seeking anything in return. Sasikala’s name carried special weight in the room because of the work she has built on the ground in Ramagundam.

A teacher who chose service as her calling

Sasikala works as a teacher. Alongside that profession, she has taken up social service as her passion. In the Ramagundam industrial area, she has established several sewing machine training centres. The purpose of those centres is clear: give women skills, and with them, a path toward independence.

The award citation praised her efforts in women’s empowerment, and that praise reflects what the centres have made possible. Sewing training is practical work. It puts a tool in a woman’s hands that can become a source of income and confidence. In an industrial belt where many families depend on wages, that kind of training can change the rhythm of a household.

Why this matters for Telangana

The story is rooted in Godavarikhani, the coal city where the report was filed, and in the industrial pocket of Ramagundam. For readers across Telangana, it is a reminder that some of the most consequential community work happens in neighbourhoods and training rooms, far from the state capital. Sasikala’s recognition in Hyderabad brings that local effort into a wider spotlight.

The honour also highlights how civic groups like the Lions Club can connect local volunteers with statewide recognition. The event gathered people who have been quietly serving across the state, and the Ramagundam chapter’s pride in its own member is easy to understand.

Her reaction was measured and direct. Speaking after the honour, she said that receiving the award was a matter of good fortune. She described it as a moment that has made her feel even more responsible for the work ahead.

Receiving this award is a matter of good fortune, and I feel my responsibility has grown even more.

That sense of responsibility appears to be shared by the club itself. Members of the Lions Club of Ramagundam Maguva said they were delighted that the work of their secretary had been recognised. They described the award as an inspiration to the entire chapter, a sign that steady, unglamorous service can earn a stage of its own.

What the recognition signals

Awards of this kind often arrive after years of work that rarely makes headlines. The citation credited Sasikala with combining a demanding teaching career with a commitment to social service, which is no small balancing act. Many people who take on community work do so in the hours left over from jobs and family duties. Sasikala’s record, as described in the award report, shows that commitment can be sustained and can grow into something tangible.

The sewing centres are the most visible part of that effort. Each batch of trainees represents a family that gains a new option. Each woman who learns to stitch and finish garments brings a skill that the local economy can use. The award does not change those classrooms, but it puts their work on public record and signals to other volunteers that such efforts are seen.

There is also a message in the way the honour was presented. The award was not handed out in isolation. It was part of a larger ceremony that celebrated several people across the state, a reminder that Telangana has many quiet builders whose names do not usually appear in print. Sasikala now stands among them, with a title that carries both pride and expectation.

For Ramagundam, the moment is a point of pride. For Telangana’s women’s empowerment efforts, it is a clear example of what a single committed volunteer can build. And for Sasikala, the award is, in her own words, a reason to do more.