92-year-old Bengal priest gets France's highest civilian honour
Howrah, Feb 6 : Father Franois Laborde, a 92-year-old priest, was Wednesday conferred the L gion d'Honneur, the highest civilian award of France, in recognition of his work for specially-abled children.
French Ambassador to India, Alexandre Ziegler, said the country was happy to confer the award on Father Laborde who had set up Howrah South Point, an organisation working for the development of specially-abled children, the destitute and the most deprived sections of the society.
"He is working for these specially-abled and destitute children for 60 years. The way he still works even at this age, he is an inspiration for us," Ziegler said.
Father Laborde said he was dedicating the award to the children for whom he works. Father Laborde is of French-origin but he has been given Indian citizenship.
He is the third person from the state to have been awarded the Legion of Honor after film maestro Satyajit Ray and actor Soumitra Chatterjee. While Ray was awarded in 1987, his favourite actor got the honour last year.
The French Ambassador also visited an exhibition on the works of Father Laborde, organised on the occasion.
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Bagalkot: Mother-son duo seriously injured in gas cylinder blast at home in Teradal
Bagalkot: A mother-son duo sustained severe burn injuries in an incident of cylinder blast at their house located in the Dutch Colony of Teradal town, Rabakavi-Banahatti taluk here.
They were rushed to a private hospital in town are currently being treated there.
The walls of the house are reported to have been heavily damaged in the accident.
Teradal Police officers visited the accident spot and inspected the situation. They are also investigating the matter.
