BHUBANESWAR: Eminent ornithologist and former MLA Uday Narayan Dev passed away following a heart attack here on Wednesday. He was 86 and is survived by his wife and son. Dev complained of heart ache on Wednesday night and was rushed to SUM Hospital, where he passed away 30 minutes after being admitted.
On January 21, Dev had released his most exhaustive book on birds ‘Vihanga Samhita’ in Bhubaneswar. Considered Odisha’s Salim Ali, Dev’s book was the result of his 45 years of extensive research as a part of his project that he called ‘Orientalisation of Oriental Ornithology’. Presented in six volumes, the book is not just a dictionary of more than 2,085 birds as per their order, family, sub-family and genera, but also provides a Sanskrit taxonomy of birds in the sub-continent, names of the birds in all Indian languages and explains 127 colour palette on birds.
A three-time MLA from Mohana constituency, Dev found peace in studying birds, an interest that he inherited from his father late Nandakishor Anangabhima Dev Keshari, Gajapati Maharaj of Sanakhemundi.
Dev was also the founding member of Project Tiger of Government of India and had authoured 12 books including ‘Vihanga Samhita’ on wildlife and avian heritage of South Asian subcontinent. He was honoured with Biju Patnaik Award for lifetime contribution to wildlife conservation.
People from different walks of life condoled his death. Both Governor of Odisha Prof Ganeshi Lal and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed their condolences. “Saddened to hear about the sudden demise of Uday Narayan Dev, popularly known as the birdman of Odisha,” tweeted the Governor who had released Dev’s book ‘Vihanga Samhita’. His mortal remains were taken to Sanakhemundi for last rites.