Bhubaneswar: Padma Shri Nanda Prusty, popularly known as Nanda Master, has tested positive for COVID-19. The 102-year-old teacher from Kantira village in Jajpur was admitted to Jajpur district headquarters hospital on Monday after he complained of acute pain in the chest.
“He had been suffering from fever and cough for the past one month. He was initially taken to Sukinda CHC, where doctors referred him to Jajpur,” Dr Prabhas Ranjan Panda, Medicine Specialist, said earlier.
His grandson, Khageswara Prusty, told the media that Nanda Master’s condition deteriorated after two men thrashed his father over some land dispute on Sunday evening. “He stopped eating and did not sleep the whole night. He fell down on Monday morning and was rushed to Sukinda hospital. The doctors there asked us to shift him to Jaipur,” he added.
Nanda Master was conferred with the Padma Shri on November 9. A picture of the barefoot teacher blessing President Ram Nath Kovind during the investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan had gone viral.
Nanda Master was honoured with the Padma Shri for his long contribution in the field of education. He is perhaps the last man to keep the tradition of ‘chatashali’ (a non-formal school for primary education in Odisha) alive.
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