Ekushey Padak winner Polan Sarkar, who distributed books for free among the people, passed away on Friday. He was 98.
He had been suffering from old-age complications, reports UNB.
Polan Sarkar died at his village home of Bausha village in Bagha upazila of Rajshahi district.
"My father was surrounded by his family at the time of his death," his son Haider Ali said.
Polan Sarkar, who started a social movement of reading books, was affectionately called 'Alor Ferywala', the distributor of light.
He won the Ekushey Padak, Bangladesh's second-highest civilian award, for his works.