UP head of PTI gets national integration award

Senior journalist and PTI's Uttar Pradesh bureau chief Subhashis Mittra was honoured with the prestigious National Integration Award on Sunday in recognition of his achievements in the field of journalism over a span of four decades.

He was among seven personalities who received the award given annually by Himachal Pradesh's oldest organisation 'The Himotkarsh Parishad'.

Mittra, who joined the Press Trust of India in the early 80s and has served the organisation in a variety of roles, bagged the 'Shresth Patrakarita' award for his contributions in the field of journalism and serving the society and the nation through his writings.

He was felicitated with the Amar Shaheed Lala Jagat Nararyan memorial award instituted in the memory of the founder of Punjab Kesari group Lala Jagat Narayan.

Operating in the hill state since 1974, Himotkarsh Sahayat Sanskriti avum Jan Kalyan Parishad (HSSAJK) instituted the awards in 1988 and has since then bestowed the honour on India's top personalities and organisations for excellence in their respective areas of functioning.

The awards were given by Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Dr Rajeev Bindal also to the widow of martyr Lt Col Rajneesh Parmar, Vice Chancellor of HPTU, Hamirpur, Dr SP Bansal, DG Ministry of Ayush Dr Kartar Singh Dhiman, HOD, dept of ophthalmology, PGI Chandigarh, Dr Surinder Singh Pandav, and noted environmentalist Acharya Rattan Lal Varma, besides the Sansowal Krishi Sahkari Sabha during the organisation's 46th annual congregation in Una district of Himachal Pradesh.