Hari Prasad Das

Bhubaneswar, May 17: Eminent Oriya writer Hara Prasad Das will get the 29th Sarala Award for his poetry Harmonium Re Todi. He will receive a cash award of Rs.1.5 lakh along with a citation. The prize money has been increased from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh with effect from this year.

Four more notable personalities of the state will be honoured for valuable contribution in their respective fields. They include lyricist Binod Pashayat, music composer Prafulla Kar, social worker Abhaya Charan Chalan and sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik. They will receive a cash award of Rs 21,000 each along with citations. The Sarala award and felicitations will be given at a special function on June 14, which coincides with the first day of Raja festival.

The annual Sarala Award was instituted in 1978 by Indian Metals Public Charitable Trust (IMPaCT), charitable wing of IMFA Group, the largest and the only fully integrated producer of ferro alloys in India.

Sarala Award is recognised as the foremost literary award in the state. The Ekalabya award, also instituted by IMPaCT, crowns promising sports talents of Orissa.