ROURKELA: A pal of gloom descended on the National Institute of Technology-Rourkela (NIT-R) campus after the head of the Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering Prof Smarajit Sarkar died while undergoing treatment for Covid-19.
Sarkar (52) passed away on Friday night and his mortal remains were consigned to flames on Saturday. His 46-year-old wife and teenage son are also under treatment at Hi-Tech Covid-19 Hospital and their condition is reportedly stable.
Sarkar developed mild symptoms following which he got himself tested for Covid-19. His test result came positive on August 8. He stayed in-home quarantine till August 10 and was shifted to Hi-Tech Covid-19 hospital after complaining of breathing problems.
Describing Sarkar’s death as unfortunate, NIT-R Registrar Prof PK Dash said it has left the entire campus shocked.A condolence meeting was held on the campus on Saturday where NIT-R Director Prof Animesh Biswas and others paid rich tributes to the departed soul.
Meanwhile, Sundargarh district reported 161 Covid-19 cases on Sunday. With this, the total number of positive case in the district rose to 3,122 of which 1,979 have recovered and 1,118 are active. Sundargarh has so far reported 25 deaths including four for reasons other than Covid-19.