Guwahati, Jan 24: Tokyo Olympics medallist Lovlina Borgohain, Covid-19 warriors and agri-entrepreneurs were among the 17 distinguished personalities presented with Assam’s highest civilian honour on Monday.
Governor Jagdish Mukhi handed over the awards at a ceremony held at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati. This is the first time the Assam government has introduced a new set of civilian awards on the lines of the Padma awards.
Industrialist Ratan Tata, who was named for the highest honour- Assam Baibhav-and distinguished management guru Dipak Chand Jain (named for Assam Saurav-the second highest honour) who couldn’t attend the event would be conferred their awards later.
“It’s a big day today. The state’s highest civilian awards will be bestowed on individuals, mostly from grassroots and selected through citizen-centric process, for their distinguished service to society. I hope the recognition inspires others to the cause of building a New Assam,” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted.
It’s a big day today. State’s highest civilian awards will be bestowed on individuals, mostly from grassroots & selected through a citizen-centric process, for their distinguished service to society.
Hope the recognition inspires others to the cause of building a New Assam. pic.twitter.com/UwfEZj6vXr
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) January 24, 2022
Besides Lovlina and Jain, distinguished educationist and scientist Kamalendu Deb Krori, bureaucrat Dr. S. Lakshmanan and renowned artist Neel Pawan Baruah were conferred with the Assam Saurav awards.
Along with a citation and a medal, the awards– Assam Baibhav, Assam Saurav and Assam Gaurav– carry a cash component of Rs. 5 lakh, Rs. 4 lakh and Rs. 3 lakh, respectively.
