Bhubaneswar: Senior Congress leader Harihar Karan, whose condition had deteriorated following the recent fire incident at Apollo Hospitals, passed away in the early hours of Monday. He was 72.
Harihar was suffering from a prolonged septicemia and was under treatment for the last three weeks. On the morning of January 2, he was shifted to AMRI Hospital after a fire break out at Apollo Hospitals. “Since he was on ventilator, his condition had deteriorated after it was removed for about five hours during shifting,” Rajesh, the son of the departed leader told mediapersons.
Harihar breathed his last at 4 am.
Born at Karadapada village in Nayagarh district on May 5, 1947, Harihar had begun his political career during his student days. He was the president of the Students’ Union of the Madhusudan Law College in College from 1968 to 1971.
A six-time MLA from Daspalla constituency in Nayagarh district, Harihar was elected for the first time in the sixth Assembly elections 1974. He was also elected from Daspalla constituency in the 7th, 8th, 9th 11th and 12th Assembly elections in 1977, 1980, 1985, 1995 and 2000 respectively.
He was the Health and Family Welfare minister in the JB Patnaik ministry in 1980. Besides, he was the chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) in 2013.
The mortal remains of the Congress leader were brought to his residence at Nayapalli, where several party leaders and think-tanks thronged to have a last glimpse of the departed soul.
The body will be taken to Swargadwara in Puri for cremation later in the day, family sources said.
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