Photojournalist Ashok Panda on way to Puri for Ratha Jatra dies in road mishap

Bhubaneswar: On auspicious occasion of Ratha Jatra, senior photojournalist Ashok Panda died in a road mishap while he was on his way to Puri today.

Ashok Panda died while undergoing treatment at the Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar. He was 57.

According to reports, Panda was heading towards Puri on his motorcycle to cover the annual Ratha Jatra in wee hours today. At around 5 am, an unknown vehicle hit his motorcycle near Satasankha and fled the spot.

The photojournalist was rushed to the Capital Hospital in a critical condition where the doctors declared him dead.

Ashok Panda was associated with several news organisations including ‘Samay’, ‘The Asian Age’ and ‘The Times of India’. He had begun his career as the photojournalist from ‘Eastern Press Agency’ (EPA). He worked there from 1984 to 1995. He joined the Odia daily ‘Samay’ in 1996. He was working with ‘The Asian Age’ and ‘The Times of India’ from 1997 to 2000 and from 2000 to 2011 respectively.

This apart, he was also providing photographs to ‘Eenadu’ and ‘Sanmarg’.