54 persons to be conferred civilian lifesaving award

New Delhi :  A total of 54 persons will be conferred the Jeevan Raksha Padak awards, a civilian lifesaving award, on the occasion of Republic Day.

Out of 54 persons, seven have been awarded the Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak, eight Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak and 39 Jeevan Raksha Padak. Five awards are posthumous.

These awards are given for a meritorious act of humane nature in saving the life of a person in cases like drowning, accidents, fire incidents, electrocution, natural calamities, rescue operation in mines etc. The awards were instituted in 1961.

The seven persons who have been awarded the Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak are Firoos. E.P. (Posthumous) from Kerala, Mahesh Pandurang Sable from Maharashtra, Spainlinos.L.Gadew (Posthumous) from Meghalaya, Lalrempuia (Posthumous) from Mizoram, Manjeet Singh (Posthumous) from Haryana, Packiya Raj M from Jammu and Kashmir and Jagbir Singh (Posthumous) from Haryana.

People of all walks of life are eligible for these awards, which can also be conferred posthumously. The award is presented in the form of a medallion and a certificate.