Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today distributed coveted Ekushey Padak-2018 among 21 eminent citizens for contributions to their respective fields.

The prime minister handed over the Ekushey Padak, the second highest civilian awards in Bangladesh, to the awardees at a function organised by Cultural Affairs Ministry at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka.

AZM Takiullah (posthumous) and Prof Dr Mirza Mazharul Islam got the award for their role in the language movement while Sheikh Sadi Khan, Sujoy Sham, Indra Mohan Rajbanshi, Khurshid Alam and Motiul Haque Khan won for music.

Minu Haque and Humayun Faridi (posthumous) got the Padak for dance and acting respectively while Nikhil Sen, Kalidas Karmakar, and Golam Mostofa got the award for drama, fine arts and photography.

Ranesh Moitro and Professor Julekha Haque (posthumous) and Dr Mainul Islam won the award for journalism, research and economics respectively while the government announced the name of Ilias Kanchan for social work.

Syed Manzoorul Islam, Saiful Islam Khan (poet Hayat Saef), Subrata Barua, Robiul Hussain and Khalekdad Chowdhury got the award for language and literature.

Each recipient got a gold medal, a certificate and a cheque of Taka 2 lakh.

Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor and Secretary Md Ibraheem Hosein Khan were present while cabinet secretary M Shafiul Alam read out the citations of the award recipients.