Bhubaneswar : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Minister for Education and Skill Development Dharmendra Pradhan several others condoled the untimely demise of Arindam Das, the Chief Reporter of OTV in a boat tragedy today.
Arindam Das died by drowning in river Mahanadi at Mundali barrage in Cuttack today while covering an operation by an ODRAF team to rescue a wild elephant stuck in the strong current of the river.
He boarded an ODRAF boat deployed to rescue the elephant along with his cameraman Pravat Sinha.
The boat overturned in the strong current of the river and capsized.
Arindam died on the spot and his cameraman Pravat is admitted to ICU in the SCB Medical College and Hospital Cuttack and fighting for his life.
While three personnel of the ODRAF team are also undergoing treatment in the ICU of the SCB Medical College and hospital, one member of the team is still missing and the operation is on to trace him.
In a condolence message, the Chief Minister tweeted, ‘I am saddened to learn the death of young working journalist Arindam Das. It is an irreparable loss for the world of journalism in Odisha. I pray for the salvation of his soul and the speedy recovery of the injured. ‘
Union Minister for Education and Skill development Dharmendra Pradhan in a Twitter message said ‘’ I am personally saddened to learn the untimely death of OTV journalist and my friend Arindam Das. We have met on many social and political programmes.
He has created a niche for himself for his courageous reporting at different times. His death has created a void in the world of Odia journalism that can not be filled.
Mr Pradhan prayed for the salvation of his soul and conveyed his sympathies to the bereaved families. He prayed to Lord Jagannath to give his family members limitless courage and patience to bear with the loss.
The National Vice President of BJP Baijayanta Panda said, ‘deeply anguished by the boat tragedy which despite safety precautions, took the life of @OTVNEWS’ intrepid Chief Reporter Arindam Das while covering an ODRF elephant rescue. He was and is a hero. My deepest condolences to his family & prayers for the injured and missing.’
Former Parliament Member and Editor Dharitri Tathagat Satpathy said ‘’ Saddened to learn about the death of Arindam Das today. He had started his journalist career with Dharitri and later moved to a TV Channel.
He was reporting about an elephant stuck in flood water sitting on an ODRAF boat that capsized.
Mr Satpathy wrote ‘’The all-encompassing greed for TV publicity these days, especially by govt executives all over, must have encouraged Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force personnel to take Arindam on board.
Several members of the Odisha council of members including Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment Minister Arun Sahu, Health and Family Welfare Minister Naba Kishore Das, Information and Public Relations Minister Raghunandan Das also condoled the death.
