BHUBANESWAR: Former minister and senior Congress leader
Sriballav Panigrahi died at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Thursday, family sources said. He was 74. Sriballav leaves behind wife
Sunanda, a retired
college teacher, two sons and their families.
"He was not keeping well for past few days," said his sister and MLA (BJD) Raseswari Panigrahi. Sriballav was diagnosed with cancer.
The mortal remains will be brought to Congress Bhawan here for people to pay their respects before being taken to Sambalpur for the last rites on Friday.
Sriballav was elected twice to the assembly (1971, 1974) from Sambalpur and thrice to the Lok Sabha (1985, 1987, 1996) from Deogarh Lok Sabha seat.
At an early age of 33, Sriballav became a minister in the cabinet of Nandini Satpathy. He held important portfolios such as revenue, law, education, commerce and food and civil supplies from 1973 to 1977.
Born on September 2, 1940, in a freedom fighter's family at Bargaon village in Sambalpur district, he joined politics in his college days. Sriballav was elected president of
Gangadhar Meher College (now university).Panigrahi played an important role in establishing the
Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) and a railway division in Sambalpur.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik and many senior Congress leaders expressed grief over Sriballav's demise.