(From left) Malati Murmu, Pravasini Pradhan, Madhu Behera, Kishore Mania, D Prakash Rao, Tulasi Munda, Sudarshan Patnaik, Sanata Kumar Panda, Pradeep Kumar Pradhan, Bidyut Mohanty, Prashanta Kumar Bhuyan and Raghunath Mohapatra (not in picture) at The Telegraph's Infocom - Advantage Odisha 2016 in Bhubaneswar on Friday.

The True Legends awards were presented to the 12 achievers, who have made a mark in their respective fields. Among the recipients of the awards were Bidyut Mohanty, who formed a grain bank for farmers and also worked for rural education, and D. Prakash Rao, who was awarded for transforming lives of slum children through education.

Other recipients were Kishore Mania, a legendary figure in the history of the state's cricket, Madhu Behera, a bird conservationist, Malati Murmu, a journalist who runs a Santhal magazine, Pradeep Kumar Pradhan, a social activist who has worked to end malnutrition, Prashanta Kumar Bhuyan, a visually-challenged activist who works for the uplift of the disabled, Pravasini Pradhan, who focuses on creating AIDS awareness.

Sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra, sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik, tribal social activist Tulasi Munda and agriculture reformer Sanata Kumar Panda were also awarded on the occasion.

"It is a matter of great pride for me that my efforts have been recognised. I will continue working towards the benefit of HIV positive people," said Pravasini Pradhan. "I would wish to thank The Telegraph for this award," said sculptor Mohapatra.

Text by Namita Panda

Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee