Noted Dalit poet, scholar and activist Katti Padma Rao has been chosen for the Sahitya Puraskaram of Loknayak Foundation for this year.
Announcing this at a media conference here on Tuesday, foundation chairman Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad described Mr. Padma Rao as a man who had spearheaded the Dalit movement in Andhra Pradesh. He had worked for the uplift of the downtrodden sections and performed mass marriages at Karamchedu in Guntur district.
He said that the award, normally given on January 18 every year to coincide with the death anniversary of N.T. Rama Rao and Harivansh Rai Bachchan, would be given on April 14, 2021, on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanthi, in view of COVID situation.