Patna: A day after the untimely demise of journalist Arindam Das, the last rites were performed on the banks of River Baitarani at his ancestral village at Raikala village of Rajnagar panchayat in Patna block of Keonjhar district.
Well-wishers flocked the village to pay their tributes. Condolence meetings were held at several places. Ghasipura MLA Badri Narayan Patra and Patna MLA Jagannath Naik were present during the floral tributes.
Patna MLA Jagannath Naik carried Arindam’s body on his shoulders.
In his condolence message he wrote “I lost a friend of mine. This is an irreparable loss for the Patna constituency and the journalists of the state.
Arindam was the only son of late Jugal Kishore Das. His cousin Manas Ranjan Das paid the ‘Mukhagni’. His uncle Dharani Dhar Das, wife Samiksha Behera and two-and-a-half-year-old son Sanvik were present at the funeral.
Upon hearing the news of Arindam’s untimely demise, many dignitaries paid their visit to his ancestral home and arrived at the crematorium to stand with the bereaved family.
Patna MLA Jagannath Naik, Ghasipura MLA Badrinarayan Patra, BJD district president Madhav Sardar, Patna block chairman Bishwanath Nayak, Former Patna Block Chairman Ingvidyadhar Das, BJD leader Soumya Shankar Chakra, reporters Birkishore Das, Maheshwar Pristi, Narsingh Nath Singh, Santosh Kumar Pati, Vijay Ratna Pati, Abhimanyu Raut, Shantanu Behera, Vijay Karua and Nishikant Beherawere seen at the funeral.
A candle was lit by the Patna Press Club at the Dadhibaman Jiu Jagannath Temple in Rajagarh to offer silent prayers for the peace of Arindam’s soul.
Das, who was working with a regional television channel lost his life while covering the rescue operation of a tusker at the Mundali barrage in Mahanadi. Arindam and video journalist Prabhat Sinha were onboard the ill-fated boat that capsized in the strong currents of Mahanadi river.