17 personalities receive Odisha Excellence Award 2019

Bhubaneswar: The 2nd edition of the prestigious Odisha Excellence Award (OEA) was conferred on 17 personalities and three organisations by Odisha Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal here on Sunday.

Noted poet and scholar Padma Vibhushan Dr. Sitakant Mahapatra was present on the occasion.

Addressing a gathering of luminaries and intellectuals of the state, the Governor shared his experience about Odia people and the tribal groups in particular.

He said that the people of Odisha are happy and satisfied with whatever they have.

Governor said, “When I meet people I used to ask whether they need to tell me or any help from me. They say no. Especially, the tribal people never ask for any support or any kind of help from the government. This land is full of satisfaction, so the people. All excellent souls reside in this land of Jagannath. When Lord Jagannath is with them, why they should seek any support from a man like me.”

Organised by leading media and publishing house Odia Media, the award event was held at Odissi Reaserch Centre auditorium.

The list of awardees include Padma Shri Prafulla Kar for Music, Padma Shri Sudarshan Sahoo for Art, Padma Shri Ileana Citaristi for Dance, Jagadananda for Social Service, Haraprasad Das for Literature, Ajit Das for Theatre, Mahasweta Ray for Cinema, Arun Bothra for Public Service, Anuradha Biswala for Sports, Sandeep Sahu for Journalism, Jagadish Prasad Naik for Entrepreneurship, Arun Kumar Sabat for Motivation, Dr Akshay Kumar Rout for Health, Priyadarshi Pany for Leadership, Sabita Patnaik for Education, Prashant Sahu for Information Technology and Trinath Lenka for Wealth Management.

Likewise, three Institutions/organisations have been nominated for this much-awaited State Level Award. NALCO for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Vajirao IAS Academy for Coaching and South Orissa Voluntary Action (SOVA) for Community Development also received Odisha Excellence Award 2019.

The Odisha Excellence Award ceremony is an annual event to recognize real heroes and achievers of the state and felicitate them for their extraordinary excellence and contribution in different fields of art, sports, culture, entertainment, education, development, and social service.