International sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik received the Bharat Gaurav award from Odisha Finance Minister in a ceremony organised by Jay Bharat Foundation at Cuttack on Friday. Pattnaik said he has decided to utilise cash reward that he received of Rs 25,000 for construction of toilets near Puri beach. His decision came in order to strike a blow to ensure open defecation free environment in India by building toilets for fishermen near the beach. The renowned artist took to Twitter and said, “I have decided to utilise cash reward of Rs 25,000 for construction of toilets near Puri beach to prevent open defecation by fishermen.”

The internationally acclaimed sand sculptor had last week created sand sculptures on the beach at Puri sensitising people to use toilet as per a report by Times of India. To which Bollywood actors Akshay Kumar tweeted “Thank you for spreading our message so artistically,” Bhumi Pednekar, who acted in ‘Toilet Ek Prem Katha’, also praised famed sand sculptor. “Thank you sir for being this symbol of change our society needs and supporting this cause,” she tweeted. Pattnaik said he was honoured after being greeted by the Bollywood actors.

Pattnaik has always been vocal about the sanitation-related issue in the country. Earlier too Pattnaik had created sand art to show the poor state of Bankimuhan beach. Through his art, Pattnaik protested to save the dirty Bankimuhan sea beach in Puri from pollution. The artists in month of July sat on dharna at the beach and also shared images of the heavily polluted beach, which evoked supporting reactions from Twitterati.