MUMBAI: The third Sahyadri Navratna Awards ceremony took place at Doordarshan's premises at Worli on Wednesday 14 April. Inaugurated by Prasar Bharati chief executive KS Sarma, the event was attended by eminent personalities from various spheres.

Lata Mangeskar lit the lamp. Later she was felicitated by a memento and Rs one lakh by KS Sarma. It was followed by the felicitation of the nine-member award jury by Mukesh Sharma.

Other prominent personalities who attended the event included actors Raza Murad, Kabir Bedi, singer Ila Arun, billiard master Geet Sethi and cricketer Bapu Nadkarni.

The first award of the evening, Natyaratna, was presented by Lata Mangeskar to Prabhakar Panshikar for drama. Ila Arun and Vijay Kalantri presented the Ratna Udyami Award to Dr. Vijay Bhatkar for his excellence in the field of IT. Ratna Saurabhi was awarded to Anjali Bhagwat Vedpathak for her excellent in sports, by Geet Sethi and Bapu Nadkarni.

Sachin Pilgaonkar won the award in the entertainment section while Shridhar Phadke got the Swar Ratna for music. Dr Shankarrao Magar received the Shiksha Ratna for his contribution in the field of education and Dr Anil Avachat walked away with the Seva Ratna for social work. Vijay Kuwalkar won the Ratna Sharda award for his works in journalism. Ratna Sharda for women went to Rajiya Patel.

The Sahyadri awards are presented to eminent Maharashtrians for excellence in particular fields of interest. Sahyadri will telecast the award ceremony on 1 May, which is Maharashtra day.