Hari Sankar Rout, an engineer by profession, has been declared the winner of Shambhavi Puraskar 2017, the fourth in the series.
Instituted in 2014 by the Bansidhar & Ila Panda Foundation (BIPF), the Shambhavi Puraskar is given in recognition of excellence and innovation by emerging social catalysts who have acted as agents of change in society. The award carries a citation and a cash award of Rs 2.5 lakh.
Rout has been working in the most inaccessible pockets of Kandhamal district on Natural Resource Management (NRM) and livelihood promotion of marginalised communities.
The award would be presented by Union Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy at a function here on April 16. Visva-Bharati University Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof Swapan Kumar Datta would also attend the event.