BHUBANESWAR: The second Bijay Patnaik Memorial Award 2022 was conferred on six persons of the State for achieving excellence in their respective fields. The award, instituted by Bijay Kumar Patnaik Memorial and Charitable Trust, were given away marking the second death anniversary of the former publisher of popular Odia daily Sambad.
Resident Editor of The New Indian Express, Odisha, Siba Kumar Mohanty was conferred the Bijay Patnaik Memorial Journalist Award 2022 for his excellence in the field of journalism. The award carried a citation and Rs 25,000 cash.
Saroj Kumar Sahu was conferred the Bijay Patnaik Memorial Newspaper Hawker Award 2022 that carried a citation and a cash prize of Rs 20,000. Sibaram Patra, who scored highest in the annual matric exams this year, was conferred the award, which included a citation and a cash prize of Rs 10,000. Two others - Sushri Swarupa Jena and Kumari Adyasha Priyadarshini Pani were also given the award and Rs 5,000 cash each. The trust also felicitated Chandra Majhi, a child labour for resuming school, with the award carrying a citation and Rs 20,000 cash.
Sambad Editor and Chairman of the charitable trust Soumya Ranjan Patnaik said that late Patnaik’s contribution to Sambad was immense. He was the first member of the Sambad family and had dedicated his entire life for its growth.
Former minister and senior Congress leader Niranjan Patnaik , BJD MLA Prasant Muduli, noted writer Hara Prasad Das, litterateurs Goura Hari Das and Asit Mohanty, managing trustee Ajay Patnaik and member Dr Swaroop Patnaik and veteran journalist Pradosh Patnaik were also present.