Eminent litterateur Chandrasekhar Rath, who was selected for Padma Shri award this year, died of old age ailments at a private hospital here on Friday. He was 89.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik went to Rath’s residence at IRC Village and paid rich tributes to him.
“All of us are grieved by the sad demise of the eminent litterateur. He will be remembered by his fans and admirers,” said Patnaik.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also mourned the death of Rath.
Born on October 17, 1929 in Balangir, Rath did his post-graduation in English from the Canning College in lucknow. He was immensely popular for his fiction and non-fiction writings and won over the hearts of Odia literature lovers for five decades which would continue after his death. Rath has written several novels, short stories and poetries.