Godfrey Phillips bravery awards announced- Manoj Rai of Kalimpong receives the award- 11 people conferred with bravery awards in Kolkata

ProkeralaNews, Kolkata, March 20, 2013:Hailing from the hills of Kalimpong, Manoj Rai, a videographer of a local cable TV network, braved nature's ravages during an earthquake in West Bengal to broadcast the plight of the stranded people.
His video on YouTube opened up channels of aid internationally. On Wednesday he was among the 11 proud recipients of the 21st Godfrey Phillips Special Social Bravery Awards. Kalimpong is a sub-division of Darjeeling in West Bengal.
Rai contacted various NGOs and officials to ask them for relief work during Sep 18, 2011, earthquake.
Similar were the inspiring accounts of 10 other recipients of the awards from West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Priyanka Mondal, a nurse, was honoured for delivering a baby to a couple stranded on a desolate stretch of a highway in West Bengal. She said: "My sense of duty helped me to overcome my initial hesitation to do such a thing. I wish that people should be ready to come forward to help others in need..."
Another award winner, Madhuri Ghosh fronted a hugely successful micro-credit revolution in one of the blocks encompassing 80 villages in Howrah district of West Bengal, and formed the Bagnan-1 Mahila Bikas Cooperative Society Ltd., which is run by women for the empowerment and upliftment of 23,042 distressed female residents of the area.
Remembered and honoured in death, school teacher Barun Biswas was posthumously accorded the Mind of Steel Award for leading a campaign against gang-rapes in his village Sutia in West Bengal. He was killed by the same criminals he protested against in July 2012.
In neighbouring Odisha's Angul district, 11-year-old Prasannta Shandilya (also a recipient of the 2011 National Bravery Award) was honoured for fighting off bandits in the middle of the night with chilli and turmeric powder in 2011.
Udasi Sahu of Keonjhar in Odisha, an employee of the National Rural Health Mission, was named for the honour for her unfaltering dedication to reproductive and child health in the forested areas.
From Andhra Pradesh, 16-year-old Suthrapu Shiva Prasad was awarded for courageously saving a 45-year-old woman from drowning in Warangal district.
Another awardee from Andhra Pradesh, sociology student Mora Bhadresham was recognised for his effort in transforming the grass-root level governance.
Anjali Chandrasekhar, 19-year old from Tamil Nadu brought home the Social Bravery Special Award for activism through art.
Also from Tamil Nadu, P. Kalaimani, V. Madan, Uday Moorthy and K. Gopi were honoured for swimming to a ship trapped at sea during the cyclone Neelam in October 2012, and rescuing 22 sailors.
Pathway India, an NGO that works for the rehabilitation and education of intellectually challenged children, was also honoured.

IBNS, Kolkata, Mar 20 : The Godfrey Phillips Bravery, a corporate social initiative of Godfrey Phiilips India, honoured fifteen bravehearts from West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh here on Wednesday. 

The awards were announced by General Secretary of Godfrey Phillips Bravery Awards, Harmanjit Singh. The awards were given on Wednesday night by West Bengal minister for power & non-conventional energy sources Manish Gupta. Danseuse Mamata Shankar and actress Rupa Ganguly were also present at the event. 

The list of awardees include Late Barun Biswas for Mind of Steel Award, Prasannata Shandilya, Vadivelu, P. Kalmani, V. Madan, Uday Moorthy, Suthrapu Shiva Prasad, K. Gopi for Phisycal Bravery Award, Udasi Sahu, Priyanka Mondal, Mora Bhadresham, Anjali Chandrasekhar, ADSN Prasad, Manoj Rai for Social Bravery Award and Madhuri Ghosh for Amodini Award. 

Manoj Rai, a photo journalist of Kalimpong, achieved the award for his compassion for fellow human beings, caught in the grip of nature's fury in Darjeeling. 

Anjali Chandrasekhar, a 19-year college student, managed to raise Rs 1.3 lakh and also donated $ 5,000 to buy insulin for diabetic children in 17 developing countries. Mora Bhadresham, in the capacity of a head of a village, invested Rs 5 lakh, given by the state government, to set up a water purifying plant, which today can provide 36 cans of 25 liters each to all the families of the village. 

Suthrapu Shiva Prasad, a 16 year old boy, risked his life to save a 45 year old woman from getting drowned in river Mayendla. 

Priyanka Mondal, a nurse by profession, saved a woman suffering from labour pain at the roadside and helped her get the baby delivered. Udasi Sahu works for the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). Her daily tryst with life includes walking for miles in every atmosphere to assist people in problems in the surrounding villages amid threats from naxals. 

Five brave men, Vadivelu, P. Kalmani, V. Madan, Uday Moorthy and K. Gopi had saved 22 lives from the fury of Cyclone Nilam which hit South India in October, 2012. Prasannata Shandilya, a 10 year old girl, threw spices into the eyes of five intruders who rushed to the home to steal and beat her parents. The thieves were eventually apprehended. Madhuri Ghosh has been the driving force behind a revolution which is empowering women in the villages of South Bengal. 

Late Barun Biswas lost his life owing to miscreants and rapists who raped women in front of their family members. Biswas protested and was shot at the Gobordanga railway station. ADSN Prasad, a speech pathologist, established Pathway India, a voluntary non-profit NGO, which today is a relatively large institution, serving over 300 disabled and 250 normal children and adults on a daily basis. Harmanjit Singh said on the occasion, 

"I congratulate all our awardees. In our journey of over 21 yeras, Godfrey Phillips Bravery Awards have always stood for courage, compassion and alertness in thought and action."