Dhaka, Feb. 20 -- Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has conferred the Ekushey Padak, the nation's second highest civilian award, on 21 distinguished individuals for their contributions across various fields.

She presented the awards at a ceremony at Dhaka's Osmani Memorial Auditorium on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Cultural Affairs announced the names of the awardees on Feb 13.

The winners received a gold medal weighing 35 grams, a prize of Tk 400,000 and a certificate.

This year, six people received the award posthumously. They include late poet Rudra Mohammad Shahidullah and singer Andrew Kishore.

Shuvro Dev is the other singer who won the award, while Shibli Mohammad won it under the dance category.

Actors MA Alamgir and Dolly Zahur were ...