BHUBANESWAR : Well-known organiser of teachers and farmers, litterateur and former MLA of Mahanga Bikram Keshari Barma passed away at a private Covid hospital here on Saturday. He was 81. Barma’s son-in-law Niranjan Bhuyan said the former MLA was admitted to the hospital after he had tested positive for Covid on May 26.
His condition deteriorated on Friday night and he passed away on Saturday. Barma was elected from Mahanga constituency in 2004 as a BJD candidate by defeating Congress candidate and former minister Sk Matlub Ali. He had written several books on Odia literature besides poems. Condoling his death, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik described him as a simple person, committed social worker and educationist.