BHUBANESWAR: The prestigious Padma awards for the year 2022 were conferred upon five eminent Odias for their contribution to various sectors at the Civil Investiture Ceremony-I held in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, on Monday.This year, the government has selected seven eminent personalities from Odisha to receive the Padma awards.
President of India Ram Nath Kovind conferred Padma Shri - India’s fourth highest civilian honour - on litterateur Narasingha Prasad Guru, singer Dr Shyamamani Devi, biologist and academician Prof Aditya Prasad Dash and social activist Baba Balia. The President also conferred Padma Shri on Dr Guruprasad Mohapatra posthumously for civil service. The award was received by his wife Anjali Mohapatra. Dr Mohapatra was the secretary in the department of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) when he died of Covid-19 related complications in June last year. He worked through his illness to coordinate oxygen supplies in the country during the second wave of Covid.
Guru received the award for his extensive work in Koshali language in which he compiled a dictionary ‘Koshali-Odia Abhidhan’ consisting of 17,000 Koshali words. Similarly, Dr Devi is known for her contribution to the development of Odissi music in a career spanning more than seven decades. Prof Dash who is the Vice-Chancellor of AIPH University, has significantly contributed in the field of vector-borne and tropical diseases affecting the marginalised communities. Likewise, Baba Balia founder of Sishu Ananta Ashram and Ananta Balia Trust, is known for his philanthropic works including women empowerment.Eminent writer Pratibha Ray and para-Olympian Pramod Bhagat will receive Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri respectively during the Civil Investiture Ceremony-II which is scheduled to be held on March 28.