BENGALURU: Two individuals who went out of their way to assist people affected during unprecedented floods and landslides which struck Kodagu district this August, have shared the title of ‘Coorg Person of the Year 2018’.
The winners are Kolera Zaru Ganapathy, chairperson, Sai Shankar Educational Institutions, Ponnampet and Chennai-based industrialist Ashok Kumar Shetty, owner of Sincona Estate in Kodagu. The duo were joint winners in a poll conducted by www.coorgtourisminfo.com. This is the first time that the award is being shared by two people.
When educationist Zaru Ganapathy heard about the tragedy, he initially announced that he would take 25 students in his residential school. Gradually, parents of more children starting approaching him.
Ganapathy said there were 130 students at present from the affected villages who are accommodated in the residential school. “We are giving them free education and are ready to look after them for another three years,” he said.
The second Coorg Person of the Year is Chennai-based Ashok Kumar Shetty, owner of Sincona Estate, on the Madikeri-Somwarpet state highway, near Makkandur. A 450 metre-long stretch of the highway was washed away due to landslides, forcing villagers and students to trek through hills to reach their homes. Taking note of the plight of the villagers, Shetty offered nearly two acres of his land to the Public Works Department for restoring the highway link.