Shiv Chhatrapati award for Pravin Thipsay

Shiv Chhatrapati award for Pravin Thipsay
UNITED NEWS OF INDIA

Mumbai, February 20: Former National chess champion Praveen Thipsay is among the three others to be felicitated with the Dadoji Kondadev Puraskar for the year 1999-2000. Maharashtra government on Tuesday announced the names of the winners of the Shiv Chhatrapati and Dadoji Kondadev awards for the year 1999-2000.

In all 34 players and seven Sports activists will be honoured with the two awards.Two sports activists will be given special awards. The awards comprise of cash prize of Rs 25,000 and a memento. Sports Minister Ramkrishna More said even though the dates of the award ceremony for the 1997-98 and 1998-99 awards winners was fixed on February 19 this year, which was officially declared as the Shiv Jayanti day, the function could not be held.

Mr More said, ‘‘It was due to the Gujarat earthquake and the Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had to be present at Agra for the unveiling the statue of Shivaji Maharaj outside Agra fort.’’

The Minister said that from next year onwards, the awards presentation would be held on February 19, every year. When it was brought to the notice of the minister that the credentials of an award winner Ashwin Shah, who has been nominated for encouraging children to take up sports, was objectionable, Mr More assured that the government is ready to rectify, if the information given to the selection committee was false.