Bhopal, Sep 18 (IANS): Pune-based veteran Hindi poet and writer Damodar Khadse was felicitated with the prestigious 'Rashtriya Hindi Seva Samman' award by the Madhya Pradesh government on Wednesday.

Khadse was facilitated by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav at an event organised by the Cultural Department of the Madhya Pradesh government at Ravindra Bhavan in Bhopal.

Besides mementoes, he was also awarded Rs 5 lakh which was given by the Cultural Department for his contribution in Hindi and Marathi literatures.

Madhya Pradesh's Culture Minister Dharmendra Singh Lodhi was also present as a special guest.

Khadse (75) has written about forty books, which include novels, stories, poems, reviews, memoirs and books in various languages.

Translations of his works have been published in local languages ??as well as in English.

Khadse has translated about twenty-four Marathi books into Hindi and has also edited Marathi special issues of some Hindi magazines.

He has also won several awards in the past including, the Sahitya Akademi and Goenka Hindi Sahitya Awards.