Eight prominent personalities have been awarded by the Rotary Club of Uttara, a leading club in Bangladesh, recognising their contributions to society.

Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, an economist and distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), was among the awardees for his role as a policy analyst at home and abroad, said a press release on Saturday.

The other awardees are educationist and former Principal of Dhaka College Professor Jahanara Begum, Debate for Democracy Chairman Hassan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiron, Jamuna TV Special Correspondent Mohsin Ul Hakim, Bangladesh Tennis Federation’s Secretary General ASM Haider Ali, Corporate Sector personality Maruf Satter, Exim Bank’s Managing Director Haider Ali and Agriculturist Professor Md Abdul Wahab.

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Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi attended the programme as the chief guest.

The commerce minister and Rotary International District 3281 District Governor Engr MA Wahab handed over crests to the awardees in a ceremony organised by the Rotary Club of Uttara at Uttara Club Limited on Friday evening.

The award-giving ceremony coincided with RC Uttara’s 32nd Installation Ceremony when outgoing President Rtn Julhas Alam handed over the presidential collar to newly elected President Rtn Shamsul Karim Ruku. The new Board of Directors took oath on the occasion.

The event was presided over by Rtn Syed Shah Nazmul Hoque Ripon, a past president of RC Uttara.

Speaking at the programme, Tipu Munshi said the Rotary Club of Uttara has been serving people for the last 32 years by implementing service projects and it was good to see the club continue to grow with more funds and big projects.

He said RC Uttara is currently building “Rotary Apu Munshi Memorial Trust Cancer Hospital” in Rangpur with an initial fund of $1.7 million to help people, especially women from poor families, in the region.

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Tipu Munshi, who is also a member of the Rotary Club of Uttara, said the presence of breast and cervical cancer in the region is high and many die without even knowing that they have cancer.

“This hospital is a great charity project to name while there are numerous other big projects to change people’s lives,” he said. “Machinery and other necessary equipment will be procured very soon while the first phase of construction is expected to be completed early next year (2023).”

Outgoing President Julhas Alam said in the last Rotary year that ended on June 30 the members of the Rotary Club of Uttara spent 14,000 volunteer hours to implement service projects across the country.