Mangaluru: The prize distribution ceremony of ‘Magu Nagu’, an exclusive photo contest organised by NewsKannada.com was held at Saanidhya Residential School at Shaktinagar on Tuesday, November 22. The students of the special school, kids, parents and others united on a very colorful evening full of fun and games.

The photo contest which was held as part of Children’s celebrations received outstanding reception with 395 entries from various places. Experienced judges in the field of photography Prabhakar Kulal, Punik Shetty and Vishwanath Kodical judged the photo contest. All photographs went through thorough scrutiny before the winners were selected. Every entry received from the parents was posted on the Facebook page of NewsKannada.com.

Darshil D Kumar from Mangaluru won the first prize and took home a cash prize of Rs 7777 while Arush Kumar from Bengaluru walked away as the first runner-up with Rs 5555. Deeksha from Bantwal won prize money of Rs 3333 for receiving the maximum likes on Facebook while Ethan Steve Fernandes from Mangaluru won the first runner-up and received a cash prize of Rs 2222.

Sanidya S Rao from Puttur, Karl Shane Pinto, Anne D’Almeida, Shrihan Raj and Saanjh Rai all from Mangaluru received consolation prizes. All the winners were handed over trophies as well.

One of the judges of the photo contest, Punik Shetty appreciated the efforts of the organizers and said that it was a very difficult task of selecting the winner. “All the 395 participants are winners. Parents should bring up by their children as only children and not competitors,” he said.

Vasanth Kumar Shetty, Administrator of Saanidhya Residential School thanked and congratulated everyone present for spending time with the specially-abled children.

Judges Prabhakar Kulal, Punik Shetty and Vishwanath Kodical, Chief Operating officer of News Karnataka Brian Fernandes and Marketing Head of News Karnataka Mehwish Hussain distributed the prizes.

Various games were conducted for the school children. The specially-abled children actively took part in the games and won prizes. Ashwin, Prajwal, Mahendra, Atul, Keerthana, Sameeksha, Rohan, Pratheek, Balasubramaniam, Hanumanthappa, Safaf, Deepak, Chiathra, Vishwadhanya, Prajwal Lobo and Venisha bagged prizes in various games like passing the ball, bomb in the city and musical chairs. Shilpa and Sushma Rai won prizes in the musical chair game specially held for the staff of NewsKaranataka and NewsKannada, Saanidhya School and parents.

Earlier, the specially-abled children of Saanidhya sang a hymn to begin the programme. The judges and the school administrator were handed over mementos by Brian Fernandes.

Staff of News Karnataka and Saanidhya School, students and others was present.

The event was supported by Fr Francis Almeida SJ Silver Jubilee Sacerdotal Trust Mangaluru and Sequeira family.