Ex-CJI Khehar, dancer Shobana Chandrakumar among 68 personalities conferred with Padma awards
New Delhi, May 27 (PTI): Former Chief Justice of India Jagdish Singh Khehar, dancer Shobana Chandrakumar, actor Anant Nag and Vice Chancellor of prestigious King George's Medical University Soniya Nityanand were among 68 eminent personalities conferred with the coveted Padma awards by President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday.
A total of 139 distinguished persons were named for the country's civilian awards -- Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri -- on the eve of the 76th Republic Day on January 25.
The President gave awards to 68 chosen ones on Tuesday in the second civil investiture ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan in the presence of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, among others.
During the first investiture ceremony on April 28, President Murmu had conferred Padma awards to 71 personalities.
In the ceremony in Ganatantra Mandap in Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday, President Murmu conferred the country's second highest civilian honour Padma Vibhushan to Justice (retd) Khehar for public affairs while the award for late Kathak dancer Kumudini Rajnikant Lakhia and late legendary folk singer Sharda Sinha were received by Lakhia's grandson and Sinha's son.
The President also handed over nine Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, during the ceremony to noted personalities which included dancer and actor Shobana Chandrakumar, businessman Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti, archaeologist Kailash Nath Dikshit, dancer Jatin Goswami, actor Anant Nag, and Sadhvi Ritambhara.
The award for economist Bibek Debroy and former Maharashtra CM and Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi was received by Debroy's wife and Joshi's son.
Leading immunologist and KGMU VC Nityanand, footballer Inivalappil Mani Vijayan, singer Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, actor Ashok Laxman Saraf, mask maker Reba Kanta Mahanta, and musician Ricky Gyan Kej were among the recipients for Padma Shri.
Noted theatre artist and acting coach Barry John, folk musician and noted parai player Velu Aasan, businessman Sajjan Bhajanka, Dr Neerja Bhatla, scientist Ajay V Bhatt, writer Sant Ram Deswal, spiritual leader Acharya Jonas Mejetti, and Farooq Ahmad Mir were among the other Padma Shri awardees.
The awards are given in various disciplines and fields such as art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports and civil service, among others.
Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order, and Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field.
Ever since the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014, it has started honouring the “unsung heroes” by honouring them with the Padma awards, thus transforming Padma awards into "People's Padma". This year, the Padma awards were given to 30 "unsung heroes".
Instituted in 1954, these awards are announced on the eve of the Republic Day every year.
All persons without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex are eligible for these awards.
Concerted efforts are being made to identify talented persons whose excellence and achievements really deserve to be recognised from amongst women, weaker sections of the society, SCs & STs, divyang persons and who are doing selfless service to the society.
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MP cruise boat tragedy: Search ops expanded to trace four missing passengers
Jabalpur (PTI): Army divers and disaster response teams on Saturday expanded their search at Bargi Dam in Madhya Pradesh to locate a man and three children still missing after the cruise boat tragedy that claimed nine lives two days ago, officials said.
With 28 of the 41 identified passengers onboard the ill-fated cruise boat rescued safely, police are preparing to register an FIR in connection with the accident that occurred at the reservoir in Jabalpur district on Thursday evening, they said.
The search radius has been expanded to 5 km in the backwaters of the Bargi Dam, located downstream of the Narmada River, area sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra told PTI.
Nine people drowned in the incident, while 28 were rescued, and efforts are ongoing to trace the missing persons, he said.
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According to the police, more than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, began the search operation at 5 am on Saturday to trace Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory in Khamaria, his son Tamil (5), Vijay Soni (6) and Mayuram (5).
Mishra said that an inquest case has been registered and the post-mortem of nine deceased persons has been completed.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will soon register an FIR," he said.
Investigators have said that CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the ill-fated boat, and the names of 41 persons, who boarded the vessel, have been ascertained so far.
Collector Raghvendra Singh confirmed that a search is underway for four missing persons.
The rescue operation, being carried out by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and local divers, was briefly affected around 9 am due to strong winds.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the incident and dismissed three crew members after survivors alleged negligence and safety lapses, including failure to provide life jackets.
The government also banned the operation of similar vessels in the state.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, sank during a sudden storm around 6 pm on Thursday, and the wreckage was retrieved from the dam water on Friday, after the rescuers confirmed that there were no more bodies inside.
Eyewitnesses have said that strong winds made the water choppy, prompting passengers to raise an alarm and ask the crew to steer the vessel towards the riverbank.
A survivor alleged negligence by the crew and described a last-minute scramble for life jackets.
