Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Nayagarh, Apr 16:

A twenty-seven-year-old youth in Madhapur village in Nayagarh district of Odisha is afflicted by an unknown disease, he sleeps for 15 days and keeps awake for a fortnight.

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Saroj Kumar Nayak  (27) , resident of Bhanpur block has been suffering from this strange malaise for the last 17 years.

His father Kashi Nath is an epilepsy patient and the family does not own any land. Even in this poverty stricken condition they have taken the youth to various hospitals in Bhubaneswar, Bhapur, Nayagarh, Cuttack but with no success.

In the period of 15 days sleep Saroj is unable to know anything  and even soils the bed, he is sleeping in. And for the next 15 days he is awake even when he is given sleeping pills.

Kashi Nath,  has said that 10 years ago, his son had gone missing , he was found asleep in a cave near their village after 11 days.

It is since this time that Saroj has been suffering from the weird habit of sleeping for a fortnight and keeping awake for the next 15 days.

The family is now in deep debt and at wits end as the father is unable to do any manual labour and they do not end have a BPL card.