Former Odisha Minister Bijayshree Routray no more

Bhubaneswar: Senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and Former Minister Bijayshree Routray passed away today afternoon while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar. He was 67.

Routray was undergoing treatment at the private hospital for post-Covid complications. He breathed his last at 5:30 PM.

He was first elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly in 1990. He was elected from Basudevpur constituency on a Janata Dal ticket.

He won twice on Janata Dal ticket and four times on Biju Janata Dal ticket.

Routray was also a Minister of Forest and Environment in the fourth term of Naveen Patnaik government.

After completing MA (Geography), Routray joined academics as a Lecturer in Ravenshaw College. However, he resigned from the job and joined active politics in 1980.

He quit active politics in 2019 and vacated the seat in favour of his son Bishnubrata.

The late leader’s son was elected to the State Assembly in the last general elections.

The sexagenarian leader is the son of late Odisha chief minister Nilamani Routray. The departed leader happens to be the maternal uncle of hotelier-turned-politician Dilip Ray.