Bhubaneswar: The last rites of Padma awardee Kamala Pujari, who passed away while undergoing treatment at SCB Medical College and Hospital (MCH), will be performed with full state honours, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said on Saturday.
Expressing grief over her death, the CM said she had helped secure the future of human society by preserving hundreds of indigenous varieties of rice and other grain seeds, besides promoting organic farming. “Her invaluable contribution to protect the environment will never be forgotten by the state and the country.”
Majhi termed her demise as an irreparable loss for the entire country.
The CM also spoke to Pujari’s son Tankdhar Pujari over the phone and conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the family.
Mourning the death of the Padma awardee, Leader of Opposition (LoP) Naveen Patnaik mentioned about her contribution to the future of food security and environmental protection by creating awareness about the preservation of hundreds of indigenous rice seeds in traditional and organic farming methods. “Her demise is an irreparable loss to the society,” he said, while expressing deep condolences to the bereaved family and wishing the departed soul peace.
Pujari breathed her last at 5.45 am following a cardiac arrest. She was 74.
She was initially admitted to the district headquarters hospital at Jeypore in Koraput district on Tuesday (July 16) for fever and old-age ailments. She was shifted to SCBMCH on Thursday (July 18) as her condition deteriorated.
Koraput Collector Keerthi Vasan V told the media that necessary arrangements for the funeral would be made according to the family’s wishes and state government directives.
Pujari pioneered organic farming, preserved traditional seeds and launched an awareness campaign among tribals to preserve and cultivate traditional seeds by using organic method. She brought laurels to the state by preserving hundreds of local varieties of paddy seeds, including ‘Kalajira’. She was conferred with Padma Shri for her contribution to organic farming and conservation of native paddy varieties in 2019.
She was associated with the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation.
She was a member of the state planning board in 2018 and was conferred with the best farmer award by the Odisha government in 2004. She also won the ‘Equator Initiative Award’ in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2002. A girls’ hostel of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) in Bhubaneswar was named after her in March 2017.
