Good Samaritans (some) of Bangalore Recognised

They make this city what it is

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: Under the moonlit sky sprinkled with a few stars, the city’s real stars were honoured on Saturday.
The first Namma Bengaluru Awards were conferred on change makers at the Bangalore Palace. The 14 awardees, chosen from a final list of 26 nominees, were from diverse fields. The crowd’s favourite was Mahadeva, who cremates unclaimed bodies with all rituals.

Governor H R Bhardwaj said: “I am happy to see the efficiency of police. They are doing a commendable job and I have full trust in them.” He also applauded BBMP commissioner Bharat Lal Meena’s work in improving the city and asked the public to cooperate.

Chief minister B S Yeddyurappa said others must emulate the awardees.
“I am happy because mine is a simple service. Earlier, I was catering to people who had relatives, but now I also look at those who have nobody to fall back on,” Sister Adelekorah said.

“This award will give us more exposure. We aim to spread the sustainable model across the country,” Ramamurthy of Sikshana Bangalore said.

Here’s a brief profile of the winners:

ASHIS K CHAND

Ashis has imparted quality healthcare in remote areas, assisted school drop-outs, and also helps develop schools. More than 1,500 spinal injury cases, 1,000 critical brain-stroke patients and over 10,000 neuro-surgical procedures in rural Karnataka have taken place under his guidance.

DR SUDARSHAN BALLAL
Ballal is director and chairman of Manipal Health Systems. The hospital provides worldclass treatment at affordable rates. He provides selfless service and heals poor patients for free.

MAHADEVA
He is responsible for taking care of bodies that are not claimed. So far, he has cremated more than 42,000 bodies. Mahadeva ensures all rituals are performed.

SANKARA EYE HOSPITAL, BANGALORE
This super-specialty eye hospital initiated Nanna Kannu programme for preventive and curative eye-care for children from economically weak sections. It’s also associated with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan and NRHM to create awareness.
SISTER ADELEKORAH
Once a principal, she provides counselling to prisoners of the central jail and admits their children to a residential school. She uplifts the spirit of inmates and helps in rehabilitating those who are released.
VATSALA PRABHU
She founded Vanita Seva Mandir School and is also founder of Ashadeep, which provides education to children who are mentally challenged.
RAIN WATER CLUB
Vishwanath (heads the club) has organized many camps to educate students about rainwater harvesting, recharging groundwater, reuse of water, etc.
SIKSHANA BANGALORE
It is the largest intervention for nurturing government schools. They adopt, empower and improve schools. Modern methods are used to train teachers. They provide technology inputs like PCs and multimedia content. Sikshana also runs the largest non-government scholarship programme in the state.

BELAKU TRUST
It has a free old-age home for women and an orphanage-cum-school. They initially started as a research organization for women’s and children’s health and nutrition. The objectives are to promote village-level health, research on healthcare practices and disseminate findings of research to appropriate policymaking authorities.

SPARSH VACHANA
It is a voluntary organization providing free cutting-edge treatment to children requiring orthopaedic intervention to lead normal lives. Over 200 surgeries have been conducted.

SOMASHEKHAR
This head constable from Nandini Layout helped nab culprits of a triple murder though the case wasn’t from his jurisdiction, showing extreme responsiveness and dedication.

KRISHNA PRAKASH T

He is a fingerprint expert in the commissioner’s office. With his assistance and focus, Bangalore police have been able to solve more than 265 cases. He has the distinction of having solved the highest number of cases in 2008. Krishna has earlier been awarded the CM’s medal for his performance.

BBMP ZERO GARBAGE
The pilot project was introduced in Gandhinagar. The concept demands immense responsibility and the BBMP has been successful in living up to it, leading to replication of the idea in other areas. The initiative was started in early 2009.
GOVT HIGH SCHOOL, KADABAGERE
For 23 years, this government school has excelled in terms of stressing on importance of socio-cultural activities and in creating awareness among children. The school has also been successful in imparting quality education, and not compromising on its core focus.

PUBLIC CHOICE
As part of the Namma Bengaluru Awards, the public was asked to send in nominations, and around 4,000 were received. A 14-member jury chaired by MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar and comprising prominent citizens including Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde, short-listed 26 finalists under four categories. From this list, 14 were selected as winners.