Nine distinguished citizens and one organisation on Thursday received the Ekushey Padak this year in recognition of their outstanding contributions to various fields.Prime Minister Tarique Rahman handed over the Ekushey Padak 2026, the country’s second highest civilian award, to the recipients and their representatives at a ceremony held at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the morning.The Ministry of Cultural Affairs announced the names of the awardees on February 5, 2026, on the occasion of Amar Ekushey and International Mother Language Day.Each recipient received a gold medal weighing 35 grams, Tk 400,000 in cash and a certificate of honour.The Ekushey Padak is awarded for significant contributions to various fields, including the Language Movement, the Liberation War, arts, journalism, literature and education.In the field of arts, actress Farida Akhter Babita received the award for film, Prof Dr Abdus Sattar for fine arts, Marina Tabassum for architecture, Arthy Ahmed for dance, Islam Uddin ...