Deepak Joyti Samman 2024
The 23rd death anniversary of East Bengal Club’s modern architect, Deepak (Paltu) Das, was observed with reverence at the club on 22 March 2024. In the morning, former players of the club and members of the Executive Committee paid floral tributes to his portrait at the club tent.
From 3:00 PM, at Dhono Dhanya Auditorium, eminent personalities from various fields of society were felicitated in honour of Deepak (Paltu) Das’s ideals. The programme began with all distinguished guests present offering floral tributes to his portrait, followed by the inaugural song performed by Mrs. Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta. A moment of silence was observed in memory of the late sports journalist Manas Chakraborty. The main event commenced with a welcome address by Club Secretary Kalyan Majumdar.
The first felicitation of the day went to this year’s East Bengal Club captain Cleiton Silva.
The “Deepak Jyoti Samman” was posthumously conferred on former club coach Sachindranath (Langcha) Mitra; the award was received by his grandson Sandeep Sarkar.
The “Deepak Jyoti Samman” was also posthumously conferred on renowned former coach Achyut Bandopadhyay; the award was received by his two sons, Anjan and Ankan Bandopadhyay.
The “Deepak Jyoti Samman” was presented to eminent industrialists contributing to the development of Bengal – Mr. Murari Lal Lohia (Jupiter Wagon), Mr. Aditya Agarwal (Emami Group), Mr. Manish Goenka (Emami Group), and Mr. Jayanta Roy (Peerless).
This year’s star midfielder for East Bengal Club, Souvik Chakraborty, was honoured.
Debjit Roy, the top scorer of the club’s U-17 team, received the “Deepak Jyoti Samman”, presented to him by Souvik Chakraborty.
A commitment to support Abhinav Sha, a 15-year-old prodigy and international champion in 10-metre air rifle shooting, was made by the Deepak (Paltu) Das Memorial Welfare Association, which handed over a cheque of ₹2 lakh to Abhinav and his father.
The “Deepak Jyoti Samman” was also awarded to Dronacharya Awardee 2023 (Table Tennis), Jayanta Kumar Pushilal;
Arjuna Awardee 2023 (Equestrian), Anush Agarwala (who could not attend due to being in Germany – the award was received by his mother);
Arjuna Awardee 2023 (Table Tennis), Mrs. Ayhika Mukherjee (who could not attend due to playing in Beirut – the award was received by her parents);
Arjuna Awardee 2023 (Cricket), Mohammed Shami (who could not attend due to IPL commitments).
The club’s cricket team coach and mentor, all coaches of the club’s athletics team, and the hockey team coach were also honoured.
The entire programme was compered by eminent journalist Gautam Bhattacharya and Mrs. Sharmistha Chattopadhyay.
The event witnessed the notable presence of all members of the club’s Executive Committee, club members and supporters, and distinguished personalities from various walks of life
