IT Desk
Imphal, Feb 4:
Labuktungbam Sibananda Sharma, an esteemed yoga teacher and dedicated social activist, has been bestowed with the Rashtriya Ayush Gaurav Award in 2023 by the Sanjivani Welfare Society, Allahabad, U.P. This prestigious award recognizes his remarkable contributions to yoga, community welfare, and sports in Manipur.
A resident of Sagolband Wahegbam Leikai, son of late L. Tombi Sharma, L Sibananda Sharma is fluent in Manipuri, Hindi and English
His educational journey includes a Diploma in Automobile Engineering obtained in 1979 in Kolkata. His exploration of yoga led him to complete the 100-Hour Assistant Yoga Teachers’ Training Camp in 2015 under the guidance of Patanjali Yogpeeth, Haridwar, U.K. He successfully passed the Federation Technical Official (FTO) Exam in the year 2006 under the Athletics Federation of India. Additionally, he completed a 5-day coaching course in baseball conducted by the Envoy Program of Major League Baseball in association with First Pitch: The U.S. Manipur Baseball Project in November 2006.
His commitment to community service is reflected in various roles within organizations, serving as a Life Member of Imphal West District Football Association since 2002, Executive Member of Manipur Baseball Association from 2002 to 2010, General Secretary of Manipur Brother’s Sporting Union since 2012, Treasurer of Bharat Swabhiman (Trust), Imphal West District from 2015 to 2022, Advisor to Young Socio-Cultural Union since 2016, and District Shah-Prabhari of Bharat Swabhiman (Trust), Imphal West District from 2023. He has been serving as the Convenor of the Sagolband Constituency Progressive Committee since 2015. Additionally, he has taken on the role of Convenor for the Peace & Relief Committee of Sagolband Constituency since May 2023.
Labuktungbam Sibananda’s impactful contributions to community welfare include the donation of relief materials such as clothes, daily essential food items, and medicines to individuals affected by natural calamities or communal clashes in Manipur since 2005. He has consistently provided essential food items, including clothes, to residents of Old Age Homes and Children/Orphan Homes for the past 10 years. Additionally, he has organized numerous health camps since 2015, conducting mass vaccination programs during the Covid-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022.
Over the last five years, he has distributed wheelchairs to differently abled individuals free of cost and offered financial assistance to the poor and economically backward for medical treatment in hospitals and homes. During the Covid-19 pandemic, he opened camps and distributed food items and clothes to approximately 200 inmates. He has also organized fogging programs for the prevention of Malaria and Dengue for the past five years.
Furthermore, Labuktungbam Sibananda has been conducting daily free yoga classes since 2015 under the guidance of Patanjali Yogpeeth, Haridwar, with the aim of fostering a healthy society. His commitment extends to organizing tree plantation programs, including medicinal plants, since 2015. In the past six months, he has demonstrated humanitarian support by donating essential food items and clothes to individuals at various designated camps in Manipur, particularly those affected by ethnic violence. Additionally, he has played a vital role in creating awareness campaigns to ensure that individuals from poor households and women have access to government schemes.
Sibananda Sharma has not only made contributions to community service but has also significantly contributed to the field of sports. He served as a Member of the Transport Committee for the 58th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy in 2002, worked as the Team Manager of Manipur Women’s Baseball Team for the National Baseball Championship in 2006, and provided financial aid to sports players and various tournaments in Manipur over the last decade.
The Rashtriya Ayush Gaurav Award, a national accolade, was conferred upon Sibananda Sharma in 2023 by the Sanjivani Welfare Society, Allahabad, U.P., acknowledging his exceptional contributions to yoga, community welfare, and sports.
