Dhaka: The government on Sunday announced names of 15 citizens for prestigious Ekushey Padak for 2015 for their outstanding contribution in their respective fields.

The awardees are: Piaru Sardar for language movement (posthumous), Professor M Mujibur Rahman Devdas for independence war, Professor Dijen Sharma for language and literature, Muhammad Nurul Huda for language and literature, the Abdur Rahman Bowati for art and culture (posthumous), SA Abul Hayth for art and culture, ATM Shamsuzzaman for art and culture, Professor MA Mannan for education, Sanath Kumar Saha for education, Abul Kalam Mohammad Zakaria for research, Kamal Lohani for journalism, Faridur Rezaa Sagar for mass media, Jharna Dhara Chowdhury for social service, Sattyaprio Mohather for social service and Professor Arup Ratan Chowdhury for social service.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to hand over the awards to the recipients formally at a programme scheduled to be held at Osmani auditorium in Dhaka on February 19.