M Nethra, a teenage girl from Madurai convinced her father to give Rs 5 lakh to help the poor tide over the Covid-19 triggered crisis

M Nethra, the daughter of a salon owner in Tamil Nadu's Madurai, has been appointed as a "Goodwill Ambassador to the Poor" for the United Nations Association for Development and Peace (UNADAP).

The teenager convinced her father to give Rs 5 lakh, which he saved for her education, to help the poor tide over immense hardships amid the coronavirus lockdown.

State minister Sellur Raju praised the girl for her gesture, and said he will ask Chief Minister E Palaniswami to honour her with an award named after late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

"A couple of days ago, Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) praised the girl. She is a pride of Madurai. I am glad to have had the opportunity to meet the leaders of the UN and to attend the event help the poor," the minister said.

"I would like to recommend to the Chief Minister that the girl should be given the J Jayalalithaa Award in the coming days," he said.

PM Modi, during his monthly radio programme "Mann Ki Baat", had also praised the girl's father, C Mohan, for spending his savings to help people in distress amid the coronavirus lockdown.

"Shri Mohan ji runs a salon in Madurai. Through sheer hard work, he had saved five lakh rupees for his daughter's education. But he spent the entire amount in the service of the needy and the underprivileged in these difficult times," PM Modi said last week.

The UNADAP said Nethra will be given an opportunity to speak at the United Nations' conferences in New York and Geneva.

Courtesy: NDTV