New Delhi, Jan 25: A 61-year-old pioneering black pepper organic farmer in West Garo Hills, who goes by the name Nanadro B Marak, was on Monday awarded Padma Shri by President Ram Nath Kovind.
Marak has 3,400 trees of black pepper spice in his mini forest, which is spread across five hectares that he inherited from his in-laws in the 1980s. He began farming with an investment of Rs 10,000, a huge amount back then, and planted around a hundred trees, now leading in thousands.
Meanwhile, in Assam, the Padma Bhusan was awarded posthumously to former Assam Chief Minister and Congress stalwart, Tarun Gogoi. The Padma awards this year has seen a record number of Padma Shri awards being conferred upon eminent personalities from Assam working in diverse fields.
