Mangaluru : The district-level Hoysala and Keladi Chennamma awards for 2016-17, given to those with extraordinary talent and achievements, were presented to four children at the general meeting of the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat on Wednesday.

Each award carries a purse ofRs 10,000 and a certificate. Meenakshi Shantigodu, president of the panchayat, presented them.

Gauravdev H.B. and Flarvisha Velisha Monteiro bagged the award for achievement in fine arts and sports. Panchami Maroor and B. Divith U. Rai were awarded for social service.

Gauravdev is a Class 9 student of Government PU College, Bokkapatna. Monteiro is studying in Class 10 at Milagres School, Mangaluru, while Maroor is a Class 9 student of Jain High School, Moodbidri. Rai is a Class 8 student of Government Model High School, Puttur.

Rai was in the news a while ago for his request to Home Minister G. Parameshwara about the transfer of teachers from his school. That had prompted Mr. Parameshwara to take up the matter with his ministerial colleague, Tanveer Sait.

The Department of Women and Child Welfare presented laptops to five organisations running ‘Santwana Centres’ under State government’s Santwana scheme for women in distress. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. had sponsored the laptops, an official said.