Ekushey Padak announced

Seventeen eminent personalities of the country have been selected for Ekushey Padak for the year of 2017 for their outstanding contribution to respective areas.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina will confer the award at a programme in the capital on 20 February, said a press release of the cultural affairs ministry Sunday.

The awardees are: Professor Sharifa Khatun (for language movement), Shushama Das ( music), Julhas Uddin Ahmed (music), Ustad Azizul Islam (music), Tanvir Mokammel (film), Syed Abdullah Khalid (sculpture), Sara Zaker (acting), Abul Momen (journalism), Swadesh Roy (journalism), Syed Akram Hossain (research), Professor Emeritus Alamgir Mohammad Sirajuddin (education), Jamilur Reza Choudhury (science and technology), Professor Mahmud Hasan (social welfare), Late poet Omar Ali (language and literature), Sukumar Barua (language and literature), Shamim Ara Nipa (dance), and Rahmatullah Al Mahmud Selim (music).