Assam Govt Confers State’s Highest Civilian Awards

Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya, in the presence of the Chief Minister, presents the Assam Baibhav, Assam Saurabh, and Assam Gaurav Awards

The Governor of Assam, Lakshman Prasad Acharya, today presented the state’s highest civilian awards for the year 2024 at an event held at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati, in the presence of Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, to distinguished individuals who have made significant contributions across various sectors of society.

It may be noted that the civilian awards for the year 2024 – Assam Baibhav, Assam Saurabh and Assam Gaurav – have been awarded in recognition of significant contributions across diverse fields, including defence, education, science and technology, arts and culture, sports, handicrafts, public service, agriculture and allied sectors, entrepreneurship, environmental tourism, and wildlife conservation. These honours have been conferred upon 21 distinguished individuals, as well as an exemplary village and an organisation dedicated to the conservation of nature.

Lieutenant General (Retired) Rana Pratap Kalita has been awarded the Assam Baibhav in recognition of his service in the defence sector. Notably, he was the first individual from Assam and the Northeast to assume the position of General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Indian Army’s Eastern Command.

The Assam Saurabh award has been conferred upon Subramanian Ramadorai for his contributions to education, Dr Bappi Paul and Dr Purabi Saikia for their work in science and technology, Dwipen Baruah and Hemanta Dutta for their contributions to arts and culture, and Uma Chetry for her achievements in sports.

Recipients of the Assam Gaurav award include Phuleswari Dutta for wildlife conservation, Meenakshi Das and Parthib Sundar Gogoi for sports, Dhirendra Nath Paul and Haridas Das for handicrafts, Binong Teron for public service, Nazrul Haque for aquaculture, Biswajit Borah for agriculture and allied sectors, Bharat Chandra Kalita for dairy farming, Barlangfa Narzary and Ramchandra Sashoni for arts and culture, Upamanyu Borkakoty and David Pratim Gogoi for contributions to startups and micro, small, and medium enterprises, Choran Ahem for eco-tourism, as well as Barekuri village and the Hati Bondhu organisation for their efforts in wildlife conservation.

Chief Minister conveyed his congratulations and best wishes to all the award recipients. The ceremony also included a cultural programme, during which Dr Sarma joined the Governor in honouring the awardees.

The event was attended several Cabinet Ministers, Members of the Legislative Assembly, Chief Secretary Dr. Ravi Kota, the Director General of Police, Assam, Harmeet Singh, and other dignitaries.