A pall of gloom descended in Puri as loknath Patra (49), a senior photo journalist with daily Sambad passed away on Thursday.
He is survived by his wife and two minor sons. He felt uneasy on Wednesday and was taken to Bhubaneswar hospital for treatment.
After a few hours, he breathed his last. On Friday his body was brought from Bhubaneswar and kept at the Sambad office where scribes and locals paid floral tributes.
In a procession, his body was taken to Swargadwar burning ghat and consigned to flames. His elder son performed the last rites.