Three from Odisha to get Padma awards; CM Naveen's sister Gita Mehta among awardees

Bhubaneswar: D Prakash Rao, popular as the ‘chai wala’ of Cuttack has been conferred with the Padma Shri award, the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan. Apart from Rao, two others from Odisha—Daitari Nayak and Kamala Pujari have been chosen for the prestigious award.

Besides, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s sister Gita Mehta (foreigner) will also get Padma Shri for Literature and Education. Congratulating Mehta for being named for the award, former Kendrapara MP Jay Panda tweeted, "Congratulations to Gita Mehta being awarded the Padma Shri. Though related to three famous men - father Biju Patnaik, brother Naveen Patnaik & publisher husband Sonny Mehta - she is herself a famous war correspondent (1971) & author of the iconic 'Karma Cola' besides other books."

Congratulations to Gita Mehta being awarded the Padma Shri. Though related to three famous men --father Biju Patnaik, brother @Naveen_Odisha & publisher husband Sonny Mehta-- she is herself a famous war correspondent (1971) & author of the iconic 'Karma Cola' besides other books.

— Baijayant Jay Panda (@PandaJay) January 25, 2019

D Prakash Rao of Cuttack runs a tea stall and is known for working tirelessly towards the development of slum children. He runs a primary school called ‘Asha o Aswasana’ for the underprivileged slum children in Cuttack city.

"I had got a call from Centre in the evening and initially thought that some one is playing a prank. But later got confirmation that I have been selected for the Padma Shri award which is really a matter of pride for Odisha," said Rao.

Similarly, Daitari Naik of Keonjhar has been selected for Padma Shri for his social work. He was responsible for single-handedly carving out a 3-km-long canal from a mountain stream to water his agricultural fields.

Congratulating Naik, cricketer VVS Laxman tweeted, "The 70-year-old farmer Shri. Daitari Naik of Keonjhar district in Odisha created a 3 km canal through a mountain with a hoe and a crowbar. His exemplary contribution gets recognised as he is to be conferred with a Padma Shri."

70 year old farmer Shri. Daitari Naik of Keonjhar district in Odisha created a 3 km canal through a mountain with a hoe and a crowbar. His exemplary contribution gets recognised as he is to be conferred with a Padma Shri ?? #PadmaAwards pic.twitter.com/4l7p8sV5cM

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) January 25, 2019

Kamala Pujari, a tribal woman of Patraput village in Koraput will get Padma Shri for her contribution in the field of agriculture.

A total of 112 personalities have been selected for the Padma awards which were announced this evening ahead of India's 70th Republic Day tomorrow.
While four eminent personalities will be conferred with the highest civilian award Padma Vibhushan, 14 will get Padma Bhushan and 94 others have been selected for Padma Shri.

Padma Vibhushan:

Ms. Teejan Bai
Shri Ismail Omar Guelleh (Foreigner)
Shri Anilkumar Manibhai Naik
Shri Balwant Moreshwar Purandare

Padma Bhushan:

Shri John Chambers (Foreigner)
Shri Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa
Shri Pravin Gordhan (Foreigner)
Shri Mahashay Dharam Pal Gulati
Shri Ashok Laxmanrao Kukade
Shri Kariya Munda
Shri Budhaditya Mukherjee
Shri Mohanlal Viswanathan Nair
Shri S Nambi Narayan
Shri Kuldip Nayar (Posthumous)
Ms. Bachendri Pal
Shri V K Shunglu
Shri Hukumdev Narayan Yadav

Padma Shri:

Rajeshwar Acharya - Art-Vocal-Hindustani - Uttar Pradesh
Bangaru Adigalar - Spiritualism - Tamil Nadu
Illias Ali - Medicine-Surgery – Assam
Manoj Bajpayee - Art-Acting-Films - Maharashtra
Uddhab Kumar Bharali - Science & Engineering-Grassroots Innovation - Assam
Omesh Kumar Bharti – Medicine (Rabies) - Himachal Pradesh
Pritam Bhartwan - Art-Vocals-Folk - Uttarakhand
Jyoti Bhatt - Art-Painting - Gujarat
Dilip Chakravarty – Archaeology - Delhi
Mammen Chandy – Medicine (Hematology) - West Bengal
Swapan Chaudhuri - Art-Music-Tabla - West Bengal
Kanwal Singh Chauhan - Agriculture - Haryana
Sunil Chhetri – Sports (Football) - Telangana
Dinyar Contractor - Art-Acting-Theatre - Maharashtra
Muktaben Pankajkumar Dagli - Social Work (Divyang Welfare) – Gujarat
Babulal Dahiya - Agriculture - Madhya Pradesh
Thanga Darlong - Art-Music-Flute - Tripura
Prabhu Deva - Art-Dance - Karnataka
Rajkumari Devi – Agriculture - Bihar
Bhagirathi Devi - Public Affairs - Bihar
Baldev Singh Dhillon - Science and Engineering (Agriculture) - Punjab
Harika Dronavalli - Sports (Chess) - Andhra Pradesh
Godawari Dutta - Art-Painting - Bihar
Gautam Gambhir – Sports (Cricket) - Delhi
Draupadi Ghimiray - Social Work (Divyang Welfare) - Sikkim
Rohini Godbole - Science and Engineering (Nuclear) - Karnataka
Sandeep Guleria – Medicine (Surgery) - Delhi
Pratap Singh Hardia – Medicine (Ophthmology) - Madhya Pradesh
Bulu Imam - Social Work (Culture) - Jharkhand
Friederike Irina (Foreigner) - Social Work (Animal Welfare) - Germany
Joravarsinh Jadav – Art (Dance Folk) - Gujarat
S Jaishankar - Civil Service - Delhi
Narsingh Dev Jamwal - Literature and Education - Jammu & Kashmir
Fayaz Ahmad Jan – Art-Craft (Papier Mache) - Jammu and Kashmir
K G Jayan - Art-Music-Bhakti - Kerala
Subhash Kak (Foreigner) - Science and Engineering-Technology - USA
Sharath Kamal – Sports (Table Tennis) - Tamil Nadu
Rajani Kant - Social Work - Uttar Pradesh
Sudam Kate – Medicine (Sickle Cell) - Maharashtra
Waman Kendre - Art-Acting-Theatre - Maharashtra
Kader Khan (Posthumous-Foreigner) - Art-Acting-Films - Canada
Abdul Gafur Khatri - Art-Painting - Gujarat
Ravindra Kolhe (Duo)* – Medicine (Affordable Healthcare) - Maharashtra
Smita Kolhe (Duo)* - Medicine (Affordable Healthcare) - Maharashtra
Bombayla Devi Laishram – Sports (Archery) - Manipur
Kailash Madbaiya - Literature and Education - Madhya Pradesh
Ramesh Babaji Maharaj - Social Work (Animal Welfare) - Uttar Pradesh
Vallabhbhai Vasrambhai Marvaniya - Agriculture - Gujarat
Gita Mehta (Foreigner) - Literature and Education - USA
Shadab Mohammad – Medicine (Dentistry) - Uttar Pradesh
K K Muhammed – Archaeology - Kerala
Shyama Prasad Mukherjee – Medicine (Affordable Healthcare) - Jharkhand
Daitari Naik - Social Work - Odisha
Shankar Mahadevan Narayan - Art-Vocals-Films - Maharashtra
Shantanu Narayen (Foreigner) - Trade and Industry (Technology) - USA
Nartaki Natraj - Art-Dance (Bharatnatyam) - Tamil Nadu
Tsering Norboo - Medicine-Surgery - Jammu & Kashmir
Anup Ranjan Pandey - Art-Music - Chhattisgarh
Jagdish Prasad Parikh – Agriculture - Rajasthan
Ganpatbhai Patel (Foreigner) - Literature and Education - USA
Bimal Patel - Architecture - Gujarat
Hukumchand Patidar – Agriculture - Rajasthan
Harvinder Singh Phoolka - Public Affairs - Punjab
Madurai Chinna Pillai - Social Work (Microfinance) - Tamil Nadu
Tao Porchon-Lynch (Foreigner) - Yoga - USA
Kamala Pujhari – Agriculture - Odisha
Bajrang Punia – Sports (Wrestling) - Haryana
Jagat Ram – Medicine (Ophthalmology) - Chandigarh
R V Ramani – Medicine (Ophthalmology) - Tamil Nadu
Devarapalli Prakash Rao - Social Work (Affordable Education)
Anup Sah – Art-Photography - Uttarakhand
Milena Salvini (Foreigner) - Art-Dance (Kathakali) - France
Nagindas Sanghavi - Literature & Education-Journalism - Maharashtra
Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry - Art-Lyrics - Telangana
Shabbir Sayyad - Social Work (Animal Welfare) - Maharashtra
Mahesh Sharma - Social Work (Tribal Welfare) - Madhya Pradesh
Mohammad Hanif ..Literature and Education – Delhi
Brijesh Kumar Shukla - Literature & Education - Uttar Pradesh
Narendra Singh - Animal Husbandry - Haryana
Prashanti Singh – Sports (Basketball) - Uttar Pradesh
Sultan Singh - Animal Husbandry - Haryana
Jyoti Kumar Sinha - Social Work (Affordable Education) - Bihar
Anandan Sivamani - Art-Music - Tamil Nadu
Sharada Srinivasan - Archaeology - Karnataka
Devendra Swarup (Posthumous) - Literature and Education-Journalism - Uttar Pradesh
Ajay Thakur - Sports-Kabaddi - Himachal Pradesh
Rajeev Tharanath - Art-Music-Sarod - Karnataka
Saalumarada Thimmakka - Social Work (Environment) - Karnataka
Jamuna Tudu - Social Work (Environment) - Jharkhand
Bharat Bhushan Tyagi - Agriculture - Uttar Pradesh
Ramaswami Venkataswami – Medicine (Surgery) - Tamil Nadu
Ram Saran Verma - Agriculture - Uttar Pradesh
Swami Vishudhananda – Spiritualism - Kerala
Hiralal Yadav - Art-Vocals-Folk - Uttar Pradesh
Venkateswara Rao Yadlapalli - Agriculture - Andhra Pradesh