Guwahati: The state cabinet on Friday approved a national-level award in the name of Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika to honour personalities who made outstanding contributions to music and culture.The inaugural award, carrying a citation and a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh, will be presented to Usha Mangeshkar in recognition of her contribution to Indian music and her association with Hazarika’s musical works at the concluding ceremony of Hazarika’s birth centenary celebrations in New Delhi on Nov 29.The award will be conferred once every three years on an internationally or nationally recognised figure in music, arts or cinema.The cabinet also raised the cash prize of the Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev Award to Rs 15 lakh, saying the increase reflects its stature as the state’s premier cultural honour.It also finalised the recipients of the 2025 state civilian awards, which will be presented in Dec.Eminent ophthalmologist Dr Harsha Bhattacharjee will be honoured with Assam Baibhav. The Assam Saurav will be presented to wildlife expert Dr Kushal Konwar Sarma, art director Nuruddin Ahmed, singer Pulak Banerjee and Hargila conservationist Dr Purnima Devi Barman.Twelve people and organisations have been finalised for Assam Gaurav, including social worker Devi Prasad Bagrodia, footballer Holicharan Narzary, cricketer Simu Das, palm oil cultivator Harakanta Basumatary, manuscript conservationist Dhanjit Talukdar, food and tourism entrepreneur Nibedita Yein, chess player Mayank Chakrabarty, ginger cultivator Jiten Phangcho, dairy farmer Tonumaya Sonar Viswakarma, tourism professional Dikpal Lahan, the NGO Kolong Kopili and Padum Pothar Agro Organic Producer Company.
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