Kamal Haasan gifts car to Coimbatore woman bus driver who quit job over ticketing DMK's Kanimozhi
Chennai, Jun 26: Actor-politician Kamal Haasan on Monday gifted a car to a Coimbatore-based woman who quit her job as a bus driver over a controversy surrounding issuing a travel ticket to DMK MP Kanimozhi last week.
The car was provided to Sharmila, Coimbatore's first woman bus driver, on behalf of the "Kamal Panbattu Maiam" (Kamal Cultural Center) to enable her become a driver-entrepreneur, the Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief said in a statement.
"I was anguished over the recent debate surrounding Sharmila, who was a very good example to women of her age. Sharmila should not remain a mere driver. My belief is to create many Sharmilas," he added.
She would now use the car for rental service and become an entrepreneur, he added.
Last week, barely minutes after Kanimozhi took a ride from Gandhipuram to Peelamedu in Coimbatore in the bus driven by Sharmila, the latter had said she had to give up her "dream job" allegedly after her colleague disrespected the DMK Parliamentarian and also because her management accused her of seeking publicity by inviting prominent personalities to travel in the bus.
She claimed she had intimated her management about the proposed visit of the MP but she could not digest the "disrespect" meted out to the DMK leader.
The transport firm denied being informed about Kanimozhi's visit and insisted Sharmila had left on her own accord.
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RCB secure IPL playoff berth with 23-run win against Punjab Kings
Dharamsala (PTI): Royal Challengers Bengaluru rode on fluent half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer, along with a decisive opening spell from pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, to thrash Punjab Kings by 23 runs and seal a playoff berth in the IPL here on Sunday.
Kohli (58 off 37 balls), Iyer (73 not out off 40 balls) and Devdutt Padikkal (45) produced impactful knocks as RCB piled up 222 for 4 in 20 overs.
Bhuvneshwar (2/38) then removed the dangerous Punjab Kings opening pair of Priyansh Arya (0) and Prabhsimran Singh (2) early to all but shut the door on the opposition, who eventually managed 199 for 8 in their allotted 20 overs.
Pacer Rasikh Salam (3/36) compounded Punjab Kings' misery by dismissing skipper Shreyas Iyer (1) in the fourth over as the hosts slumped to 19 for 3.
Late-order batters Shashank Singh (56 off 27 balls) and Marcus Stoinis (37 off 25 balls) attempted to revive the innings with a counter-attacking effort, but the towering RCB total ultimately proved far beyond PBKS' reach.
Earlier, Kohli stitched together a 76-run stand with Devdutt for the second wicket to lay the foundation before adding another 60 runs with Venkatesh for the third wicket as table-toppers RCB delivered yet another authoritative batting display.
Brief Scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 222 for 4 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 58, Devdutt Padikkal 45, Venkatesh Iyer 73 not out; Harpreet Brar 2/35).
Punjab Kings: 199 for 8 in 20 overs (Cooper Connolly 37, Suryansh Shedge 35, Marcus Stoinis 37, Shashank Singh 56; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/38, Rasikh Salam 3/36).
