Boy tipped for bravery award

Venkatesh, the 12-year-old boy, who grabbed national headlines by guiding an ambulance across a flooded bridge, will be nominated for the National Bravery Award for Children.

Speaking to DH, Ranganath B Nayaka, a teacher at Hirerayakumpi Primary School, said that since his actions qualified for a bravery award, the Karnataka State Council for Child Welfare - a non-profit organisation, had written to the school urging them to apply for the National Bravery Award, announced by the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW). “We are in the process of attaching the necessary documents sought by the ICCW,” he said. The awards will be announced after the documents are scrutinised.

In August this year, as flood water inundated parts of his village, Venkatesh had aided an ambulance driver by guiding him across the bridge. A video of him wading through waist-deep water flowing across the bridge to guide the ambulance had gone viral on social media. He was conferred with the ‘Shourya Award’ by the Raichur district administration on the Independence Day this year.