Insight Bureau: The king of erstwhile Ganjam Sanakhemundi and three-time MLA from Mohana, Saheb Uday Narayan Dev breathed his last while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar at around 11 pm on Wednesday. He was 87.
He was elected from Mohana Assembly Constituency in Gajapati district three consecutive times in 1974, 1977 and 1980.
His most exhaustive work on birds ‘Vihanga Samhita’, a book in six volumes about more than 2,085 birds, was released by Governor Ganeshi Lal on January 21. That was a result of 45 years of extensive research as a part of his project that he called ‘Orientalisation of Oriental Ornithology’.
He had also built a bird museum to train youths in ornithology as a part of his ‘Project Vihanga’ in Chilika.
He has also been honoured with the Biju Patnaik Award for Wildlife Conservation for his contribution to avian research and conservation.