It was a black Saturday for IT dealers in Coimbatore this August 23. Around 40
members of Coimbatore association has set out to Ooty for a picnic over the
weekend. The journey back turned out to be a disaster for a couple of traders.
The car in which SG Ponnaresu, CEO, ADD-ONS Computers, Senthil, CEO, Computer
Solutions and R Mahesh, CEO, Ozone Computer Service were traveling in met with a
horrific accident. Ponnaresu and Senthil died on the spot while Mahesh was badly
injured.
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| Senthil |
SG Ponnaresu |
“Mahesh was driving the car and they were returning from Ooty to Masanakkudi
and the car lost its balance on a hairpin bend. We lost Ponnaresu and Senthil on
the spot, and Mahesh is now out of danger,” informed Karthikeyan, President,
Confed-ITA. Ponnaresu, 42, was an industry veteran with 18 years of trading
experience. He is survived by his wife and two daughters. Senthil was in the IT
industry for almost 12 years and was married for one and half years. His wife is
expecting a baby shortly. Remembering Ponnaresu, Karthikeyan said that he was
instrumental in coordination of Tamil Nadu Information Technology Association (TANITA)
the association formed prior to Confed-ITA, along with the Madurai association.
“He played a vital role in the formation of Confed-ITA and was instrumental in
conducting the first meeting of TANITA along with the Madurai association. The
death of both the dealers is a great loss for our association,” Karthikeyan
informed. Ponnaresu had played a vital role in the development of Coimbatore
association and was the Secretary for the association during 2007-08. “He was
the one who renamed our association from Coimbatore Computer Dealers Association
(CCDA), and he took a lot of efforts to make our association an active one,”
informed K Thangaraj, Secretary, CITA.
Dealers in Coimbatore association are mourning the death of their beloved
channel partners by downing their shutters for a whole day. This is the second
time in a year that Coimbatore has lost its partner during a picnic. Earlier in
February, AH Saleem, CEO, Compu Soft, Coimbatore lost his life while trying to
save his drowning nephew during a family picnic.