Rajyotsava Award winner donates prize money to five institutions

Bengaluru: NRI entrepreneur and philanthropist Zacharia Jokatte, who was recently conferred the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award, has announced that he will donate the entire cash component of the award — ₹5 lakh — to five humanitarian organisations.

The beneficiaries include Sanidhya Residential School for the Mentally Challenged (Mangaluru), Snehadeep HIV Home for Children (Bondel), Snehadaya De-addiction Centre (Talapady), Lady Goschen Karunya Project of M. Friends Charitable Trust, and the Hidaya Colony Centre for Specially Abled Children (Kavalakatta). Each institution will receive ₹1 lakh.

The donations will be formally distributed at a civic felicitation ceremony being organised by the Zacharia Jokatte Fans’ Association later this month. The award includes ₹5 lakh in cash, a 25-gram gold medal, a citation, and a memento.