Five journalists were awarded the Lalitkala Patrakarita Puraskar 2015 at the Nepal Art Council, Babarmahal on Monday.

At a ceremony organised by the Society of Fine Art Journalists Nepal (Sofaj), Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun presented the awards under three categories.

Among the recipients were Phulman Bal and Monica Jha (Narayan Bahadur Singh Smriti Patrakarita Puraskar), Dabbu Chettri (PARK Lalitkala Patrakarita Purashkar); Tanka Prasad Upreti and Raj Man Maharjan (Sofaj Lalitkala Patrakarita Bisesh Samman).

The annual event is organised to award outstanding journalists in honour of their commitment and contribution to the journalism field and fine arts. Also honoured during the event were journalists Shyam Rimal and Kritan Adhikari.

Speaking during the event, Pun said: “I would like to congratulate the recipients of these prestigious awards... I hope Sofaj will continue to make the Nepali fine arts scene managed, professional and honourable in the future as well. I also want to urge concerned authorities to get working on encouraging artists and organisations working to develop the Nepali arts sector.”