Bhubaneswar: Rabi Narayan Pattanayak was one among the well-known engineers of Odisha. He was born on August 4, 1934, at a small village near Jajpur. He got his primary education at the Jajpur High School. He enrolled at the erstwhile Ravenshaw College for his BSc in Statistics and passed out with a first class honours with distinction.
He qualified for the Commonwealth Scholarship in 1952 and went to Australia to study engineering. He was very intelligent and got many ranks during his period of study, both in school and college. He graduated in Civil Engineering from the University of Sydney, getting a first class and was appointed as a Senior Engineer in the Water Resources Department of the Government of Australia. He won laurels for his work in the outback territories of Australia and rose high up the ranks.
In 1958, he had to return to India due to the death of his elder brother, who too was an engineer in the Irrigation Department of the Government of Odisha and had succumbed to tuberculosis. He had to give up his lucrative career as his father wanted him to stay back. He applied for various jobs and was selected as a Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering at the Roorkee Engineering College. After a short stint there, he joined as the Senior Engineer in Cochin Harbour Port.
Family pressure once again forced him to return to Odisha and he joined as an Assistant Engineer in the Irrigation Department here.
During his stint, he was actively involved in the construction of the Paradip Port. He served in many important projects before he retired as a Chief Engineer. Rabi Narayan Pattanayak was an eminent engineer, a good guide and an efficient administrator. He played various roles and rendered good service to the state.
He breathed his last on May 8 this year.
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