THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Two children from Kerala figure in the list of winners of the President’s national bravery awards released by the Indian Council for Child Welfare. They are Ashwin Sajeev of Kottayam and Shikhil K of Malappuram.
The awards will be presented to the children by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Republic Day function in New Delhi on January 26, 2019. “Their educational expenses will be borne by the Indian Council for Child Welfare,” said Deepak S P, general secretary of State Council for Child Welfare. Ashwin,10, a Class IV student of SKM HSS, Kumarakom, bagged the award for saving his friend, Ashwin,of Class II from drowning in a lake in Kumarakom.
He is the son of Sajeev, a painter, and Anila. Shikhil saved two lives – of Asheeb and a girl of Class IV – from the waters of the Chaliyar river in Malappuram district. Two teenagers Asheeb and Ashraf while taking a bath in the river began to drown. Shikhil jumped into the river, but was only able to rescue Asheeb. Two days before this incident, he had rescued a girl from drowning.
He is a Class IX student of Government Vocational HSS, Kizhuparamba. Shikhil is the son of Surendran, a manual labourer, and Beena of Kuthukalingal, Kizhuparamba.