Green champion, Ukraine hero among four selected in TN

VELLORE: Among the four selected for the prestigious Chief Minister’s State Youth Award is G Srikanth from Vathiyarpatti village in Gudiyattam taluk, who had earlier won the Green Champion Award instituted by the Tamil Nadu government, sources here said.

Another recipient is P Vijayakumar of Valluvampakkam in the Ranipet district, who was instrumental in helping many medical students from Ukraine reach their native places when that nation plunged into a war with Russia.

The other two recipients included M Mohammed Ashick of Gudalur in the

Nilgiris and S Sivaranjani of Karuvapulam west in Nagapattinam’s Vedaranyam taluk.

A letter signed by the SDAT GM (Administration) stated that the award would be presented by CM MK Stalin on I-Day at the Secretariat and that the awardees should be present for the rehearsal a day earlier at the Nehru stadium.

The award is presented to youth below 35 years for their involvement in social work.

The award is especially poignant for Srikanth as the plantation he raised on the Palar banks at Ulli near Madanur to prevent illegal sand mining was deemed to be an encroachment and the district administration has asked him to keep away.