COVID Death: Odisha CM Sanctions Rs 15L For Odia Daily Editor

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday sanctioned Rs 15 lakh ex gratia in favour of next of kin of Bijayalaxmi Mohanty, editor-cum-chief correspondent of Odia Daily, Ajikali.

Mohanty succumbed to COVID-19 on August 27 last year.

In May, the Chief Minister had declared working journalists of the state as frontline COVID warriors.

Working journalists of the state are covered under Gopabandhu Sambadika Swasthya Bima Yojana under which they get an health insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh each.

An ex gratia of Rs 15 lakh is also being provided to the next of kin of journalists who die of COVID while performing duty.