Shivani Sharma, Mohammad Atif and Anurag have been selected for the Bapu Gayadhani Awards. All three saved their schoolmates from drowning when their bus overturned and fell into the river Yamuna. The Geeta and Sanjay Chopra awards have been conferred on eight-year-old Anchal Grover and 10-year-old Akash Grover, respectively, of Uttar Pradesh.

They saved their house from being robbed by fighting back the assailants. Ekta, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, has been conferred with the award for resisting a rape attempt and helping in getting the accused arrested. Mohammad Aslam from Madhya Pradesh, who was instrumental in averting a train accident, has also been conferred with the award. Sudesh Kumar Soudhe and Karuna Dubey of Madhya Pradesh have been awarded for saving people from drowning when a trolley fell into a nullah. Karuna is being conferred with the award posthumously.

Other recipients of the awards are Yamini Kanwar from Rajasthan, who saved her brother when he fell into a ditch filled with coal tar, Pramod Hariom Arora of Maharashtra, who saved his mother and brother and got help for others injured in an accident and Sanket Surendra Salvi of Maharashtra who saved a girl from a stray dog.

Vikas Ahmed and Ovais Ahmed of Jammu and Kashmir have been awarded for fighting off robbers and nabbing one of them, while Pramod from Karnataka has been awarded for foiling a robbery bid. Satyabhama Sahu from Orissa has been honoured for saving a child from drowning.

The children will receive their awards, which include a silver medal, a certificate and a cash award, from the Prime Minister on the eve of Republic Day. According to F.C. Pahwa, secretary general, Indian Council for Child Welfare, the awardees will be given financial assistance until they complete their schooling under the Sponsorship Programme of the council. Those undertaking professional courses will be provided financial assistance and others will be given scholarship till they complete their graduation.

The selection was made by a high-powered committee headed by Rear Admiral (Retd) M.M. Chopra and was presided over by Sunita Gadgil, president, ICCW.