Chennai: On the occasion of the 73rd Independence Day celebration, Tamilnadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami presented various awards.
P Ramyalakshmi, Assistant Director of Fisheries, was given the Kalpana Chawla Award for Courage. It carries a medal, a cheque for Rs 5 lakh and citation. Her action against the use of banned purse seine nets helped protect marine resources and ensured sustainable livelihood of traditional fishermen in Cuddalore district.
The elderly couple from Tirunelveli – Shanmugavel and Senthaamarai – who fought off two armed robbers late on Sunday, were honoured with a special award for their bravery act.
Greater Chennai Police Commissionerate, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department, and Commercial Taxes Department received the Chief Minister’s Best Practices Award from Palaniswami.
The Chennai police was honoured for installing CCTV cameras and using Facetagr app for detecting crimes, the rural department got the award for rejuvenating Naganathi river in Vellore district under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Emplowment Guarantee Scheme.
The commercial taxes department was honoured for its work in aiding traders for easy migration to the GST through initiatives like introducing an app and a help desk.
Best social worker award and works by local bodies were recognised during the award ceremony. The best corporation award was given to Salem and best municipality award went to Dharmapuri. The awards carried a cash component Rs 25 lakh and Rs 15 lakh, respectively.