The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Monday handed over the prestigious Bangla Academy Sahitya Purashkar to 11 personalities in recognition of their contributions to their respective fields.
The recipients are Altaf Hossain (poetry), Shaheen Akhtar (fiction), Abul Momen and Atiur Rahman (jointly for essay), Maniruzzaman (research), Abdus Selim (translation), Tajul Mohammad (literature on Liberation War), Faruk Chowdhury (biography and travelogue), Masum Reza (drama), Sharif Khan (science, technology and environment) and Sujan Barua (juvenile literature).
The Prime minister gave the awards at the inaugural function of the month-long Amar Ekushey Book Fair on the Bangla Academy premises.
Bangla Academy chairman and Dhaka University professor emeritus Anisuzzaman chaired the inaugural session. Bangla Academy director general Shamsuzzaman Khan delivered the welcome speech.
