Heart in right place, Lion gets a date with I-Day honours

P Ponnudurai, the managing director of Lion Dates Impex Private Ltd, "do not sport the smooth mannerisms of the average corporate don". Nothing could be more true than these words in his profile sent to the State Commissioner for Differently Abled Persons, P R Sampath, in Chennai by R Shyamala, the District Differently-Abled Welfare Officer (DDAWO), for Independence Day awards.

DDAWO recommends names of individuals or institutions in six categories to the State government for Independence Day awards. Lion Dates Impex Pvt Ltd, a Rs 150-crore company set up in 1978, won the Best Employer Award this year. Lion is today the country's largest dates processing and trading company, and has a strong presence across India.

Ponnudurai said the award was in recognition of the humble role his ISO 9001:2000 certified company played in providing employment to rural women and for making the life of differently-abled people better. More than 90% of the people employed by the company are women and, most of them are mentally-challenged. They are mainly employed in de-seeding dates and other allied works at the company. The company at present employs 15 hearing-impaired and 11 mentally-challenged workers in the various plants in Trichy, Kachamangalam, Anthanallur, Panaiyakurichi and Cauvery Road in Trichy district.