BHUBANESWAR: Seven-term BJD MLA and ex-Odisha minister Damodar Rout passed away on Friday after suffering a heart attack. He was 82.
Rout was put on ventilator support at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar on Thursday late evening.
Family sources said he was first taken to the state-run Capital Hospital and from there, he was referred to a private hospital after his condition deteriorated.Rout’s MLA son, Sambit Routray, has alleged neglect by Capital Hospital, which has led to his father’s almost ‘brain-dead’ condition.
“No CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) was given at the Capital Hospital despite repeated requests,” Sambit said. The hospital’s director, Laxmidhar Sahoo, has denied the allegation. “After Sambit brought the matter to my notice, I did a detailed inquiry and found that there was no laxity in Rout’s treatment. The doctors on duty gave him the best treatment. He had to be referred to another hospital because there was no nephrologist in our hospital and Rout’s kidneys needed treatment.”Damodar Rout political career
Rout was put on ventilator support at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar on Thursday late evening.
Family sources said he was first taken to the state-run Capital Hospital and from there, he was referred to a private hospital after his condition deteriorated.Rout’s MLA son, Sambit Routray, has alleged neglect by Capital Hospital, which has led to his father’s almost ‘brain-dead’ condition.
“No CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) was given at the Capital Hospital despite repeated requests,” Sambit said. The hospital’s director, Laxmidhar Sahoo, has denied the allegation. “After Sambit brought the matter to my notice, I did a detailed inquiry and found that there was no laxity in Rout’s treatment. The doctors on duty gave him the best treatment. He had to be referred to another hospital because there was no nephrologist in our hospital and Rout’s kidneys needed treatment.”
Damodar Rout political career
- Dama, who started his political career from the erstwhile Janata Dal, was elected five times from Erasama and twice from Paradip.
- He served as a minister in the councils of CMs Nilamani Routray (1979-1980), Biju Patnaik (1990-1995) and Naveen Patnaik multiple times, the last stint being from 2014 to 2017.
- He was dropped as a minister for his casteist remarks and was later expelled from the BJD for anti-party activities.