Bargarh: The 12-year-old child artiste, Shreyas Pujhari, who was selected to play the role of Balaram in the upcoming 11-day-long Bargarh Dhanu Jatra, passed away. The festival is scheduled to begin on December 27.
According to sources, Shreyas, a native of Amapali of Bargarh town that transforms into Gopapura during Dhanu Yatra, suddenly fell while playing in his house.
He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital but doctors pronounced him dead on Friday.
Shreyas was studying in class-VII in a private school in Bargarh. The rehearsal for this year’s Dhanu Jatra has just begun and all the artistes including Pujari have been attending it for a week.
“He was doing really great in the rehearsals. His performance was at par with senior artistes. I was sure, he would do really great in this year’s Dhanu Jatra. But sadly, it wasn’t meant to be. He left us at a very young age,” his instructor Rabindra Pujari told local media.
