Prime Minister Khaleda Zia at a function at the Osmani Memorial Hall distributed the awards among the recipients that included a British woman, who has helped hundreds of people with disabilities in Bangladesh.

The awardees are Oli Ahad (independence and liberation war), Comrade Moni Singh (posthumous- independence and liberation war), Brig (retd) Prof Abdul Malik (medical science), Muhammad Siddique Khan (posthumous- education), Abu Ishaq (posthumous- literature), Altaf Mahmud (posthumous- culture) and Valrie Ann Taylor (public service) and Bangladesh Ansar and VDP (sports), Rural Development Academy, Bogra (rural development) and Sandhani (social service).

The award carries a gold medal, Tk 1 lakh and a certificate.

Family members of the awardees, who won the award posthumously, received the awards from the Prime Minister.