Lata Mangeshkar to be conferred with Banga Bibhushan

New Delhi, Sep 24: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is all set to confer state's highest civilian honour, the 'Banga-Bibhushan', to legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar.

On Friday, Mamata announced on her Facebook page that the 86-year-old singer has accepted the proposal in a letter. "I am deeply overwhelmed by the letter of Lata Mangeshkarji, just received, conveying her kind consent to accept Banga Bibhusan, the highest civil award of Bengal. My sincere gratitude to her. We are immensely honoured," Mamata said on Facebook.

The Banga Bibhushan is to honour her contribution to Bengali music. "The love, respect and admiration that Lata ji has for Bengal and the way she cherishes her wonderful memories with the state and different iconic personalities of the state, as reflected in her letter, has touched me very deeply.

Sanjiv Goenka, chairman of music company Saregama, where Lata recorded many songs, would also accompany Mamata to confer the award to the nightingale of India.

Mamata is expected to fly to Mumbai on October 20th to honour Mangeshkar and hand her the award.