The Assam Government released the names of the winners of the ‘Asom Baibhav‘, ‘Asom Sourav‘ and ‘Asom Gourav‘ awards for the year 2022-23 on Wednesday, the 4th of January 2022.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam, Dr.Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that the State Government has decided to confer the highest civilian award of Assam ‘Asom Baibhav’ (for the fiscal year 2022-23) to renowned oncologist, Dr. Tapan Saikia. Dr. Saikia is a resident of Naharkatia in the Dibrugarh district of Assam and is eminent in the medical field for his remarkable contribution in the sector of Healthcare (Cancer Care) and Public Service, for generating awareness and early detection of cancer in Assam and other Northeastern states. At present, Dr.Tapan Saikia is the director of Oncology Sciences at the Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai and one of the patrons of the Deepsikha Foundation of Guwahati, Assam. Dr.Saikia will be proffered a financial award of Rs.5 lakhs as part of the Asom Baibav award. Additionally, he is entitled to free medical care for the rest of his life.
The Asom Sourav award (for the fiscal year 2022-23) has been conferred on 5 dignitaries:
Shri Krishna Roy: One of the pioneers of mobile theatre in Assam, Shri Krishna Roy is held in high regard by Assamese folks for his tremendous efforts and contributions in promoting and preserving the appeal of theatre in the era of digital media. Roy started his career in 1965 as an editor and light manager in Nataraj Theatre, formed by Achyut Lahkar and then served as the secretary of Purbajyoti Theatre for five years. He has been associated with all sorts of mobile theatres and groups for decades and in 1980, he founded the noted mobile theatre group ‘Avahan Theatre’ in Pathsala, Barpeta. Krishna Roy has previously been awarded with the Atul Chandra Hazarika Award and Ban Theatre Award among several recognitions for his contribution to the development of cultural arts.
Shri Gilbertson Sangma: Gilbertson Sangma is a former Indian footballer from the district of Dibrugarh, Assam. He became a regular player of the Assam Police team since becoming a member in 1972. He was selected in the Assam state team for the ‘Santosh Trophy’ shortly after beginning his senior career in inter-district football tournament in 1973. He represented the Assam team seven times from 1973 to 1980 in Santosh Trophy. In 1975, Sangma was picked in the Indian national team for three International friendly matches in Indonesia and Thailand.
Dr.Binoy Kumar Saikia: Born in the Golaghat district of Assam, Dr Binoy Kumar Saikia earned his M.Sc degree in inorganic chemistry from Gauhati University in 2001 and PhD degree from Dibrugarh University in 2008 for his dissertation on “Some aspects of the structural investigation of Assam coal”. He is presently a Principal Scientist at North East Institute of Science and Technology, Jorhat (NEIST), Assam and also the Group Leader of the Coal and Energy Research Group in the Materials Science and Technology Division of NEIST. He has received numerous awards for his research on the environmental impact of carbon emissions and aerosols, as well as the scope of development of technology pertaining to coal,carbon and nano-materials. He has also developed and patented a technology for the production of blue-fluorescent carbon quantum dots from Indian coal, both in India and the U.S.A.
Dr.Sashidhar Phukan: Dr.Sashidhar Phukan was born in 1965 in the Sibsagar district of Assam. He completed his MBBS course from Shillong Medical College and ENT course from Guwahati Medical College. He served in the river island of Majuli for a long time, providing free treatment to the indigent people and regularly visiting relief camps to provide free healthcare services. He is presently appointed as the Joint Director of Health Services, Jorhat.•
Smt.Nayanmoni Saikia: Hailing from Tengabari, a remote village at Sarupathar in Golaghat district of Assam, Smt.Nayanmoni Saikia is an international lawn bowler who represented India at three Commonwealth Games. She was part of the Indian Women’s Fours team which made history in the 2022 CWG as they bagged the gold medal in the Lawn Bowls competition of the Games. Saikia had also represented India in the Asian Lawn Bowls Championship, where she bagged a gold and a bronze medal in 2017 and 2018 respectively. The Government of India conferred upon her the prestigious Arjuna Award and the Government of Assam appointed her as the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in Assam in 2022 for her remarkable achievement.All recipients of the award will be receiving a payout of Rs.4 lakhs and are entitled to upto Rs.3 lakhs in annual government-funded medical care.
