Odisha’s Renowned Vet Dr SK Ray Passes Away At 79

Bhubaneswar: Renowned veterinarian Dr Surendra Kumar Ray passed away here on Saturday morning. He was 79.

He died of cardiac arrest at around 8 am. He had no health issues and did his morning chores, sources said.

Popularly known as Dr SK Ray, his Dog Care Centre at Unit-4 here was hugely popular among pet lovers.

Born in Jajpur district in 1942, he did his BVSc and MVSc from the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) here. Dr Ray did his PhD from Punjab Agricultural University. He retired as Professor and Head, Department of Veterinary Medicine, OUAT.

Dr Ray also held the office of Director, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services, under the Odisha government for three years. He also worked as Emeritus Scientist of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for two years.

In a career spanning over 30 years, he pursued several research programmes and published 49 papers in national and international journals.

Dr Ray was also a prominent member of Rotary International. He was the younger brother of former registrar of Utkal University Debendra Kumar Ray and former OERC chairman Dhirendra Kumar Ray. He was the third among five brothers and one sister.

Dr Ray leaves behind his wife and three sons. His eldest son Sanket Ray is president (India and Southwest Asia) of beverage major Coca-Cola. One of his sons, Sanjog Ray, is a faculty member at IIM-Indore.