Veteran Congress leader and former Minister and former MP Sriballav Panigrahi passed away in a private hospital in Bengaluru on Thursday morning. He was 74 and is survived by his wife Sunanda Panigrahi and two sons. “Panigrahi had fallen ill since a week and was admitted to a hospital in Bengaluru where he passed away at 8.31 am today,” said his sister and BJD MlA of Sambalpur Dr Raseswari Panigrahi.

The body of Panigrahi would be brought to Bhubaneswar and taken to the Congress Bhawan for party men to pay their last respects before being taken to Sambalpur where his mortal remains would be consigned to flames on Friday. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, PCC president Prasad Harichandan, former PCC president Niranjan Patnaik, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and many other leaders have condoled the death of Panigrahi.

Born on September 2, 1940 in a freedom fighter’s family at Bargaon in Sambalpur district, Panigrahi was elected as an MlA in 1971 and 1974 from the Sambalpur constituency. He was the youngest Cabinet Minister at the age of 33 when Nandini Satpathy was the Chief Minister. He was also elected as an MP from the Deogarh constituency in 1984, 1991 and 1996.

Panigrahi had played a vital role in the setting up of the Mahanadi Coalfields ltd (MCl) at Sambalpur. Besides, his efforts in the setting up of a Railway Division at Sambalpur would be remembered. Panigrahi was also associated with several trade union activities. He was a member of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC)’s National Working Committee. Prior to his death, he was the president of the New life Education Trust for Promotion of Sri Aurobindo Integral Education in Odessa.