Guwahati: Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday presented the Bishnu Rabha Award, 2018, to sculptor Janak Jhankar Narzary and dance exponent Guneswar Bhuyan.

Sonowal presented the award at the central Rabha Divas function held under the aegis of the cultural affairs department, in association with Kamrup (metro) district administration, at Sonapur mini stadium here.

The award carries Rs 2 lakh, a citation, a xorai and seleng sador.

Sonowal urged the society to reinforce human values among the youth and indulge in hard work with dedication and perseverance.

"Bishnu Prasad Rabha exemplified great human values, hard work and perseverance. He worked for a classless society and strengthened unity and harmony. Students and youths must learn from his ideals and pay adequate respect to the legacy bequeathed to us by legendary personalities of the state to promote peace, harmony, brotherhood and friendship," he said.

Underlining the contribution of Rabha towards art and culture, Sonowal said the doyen worked to materialise his vision of a classless society through a cultural revolution. He said that people could tackle societal ills only through culture. He also stressed on orienting the youth with human values for achieving the same.

Cultural affairs minister Naba Kumar Doley, Dispur MLA Atul Boram, Gauhati West MLA Ramendra Narayan Kalita, Lakhimpur MP Pradan Baruah and Assam State Film Finance Corporation chairman Jatin Bora, among others, were present.