Former Odisha Minister and BJD MLA Pradeep Maharathy passes away due to COVID-19 at 65

Former Odisha Minister and senior BJD MLA Pradeep Maharathy has passed away due to COVID-19 infection. Maharathy was 65-years-old.
Maharathy was elected as a MLA seven times from Pipili constituency, out of which five times were on Biju Janata Dal (2000-2019) ticket and once each on Janata Party (1985) and Janata Dal (1990) tickets.
He had served as Minister of Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Supply, Agriculture and Fisheries during his terms in Odisha.
Maharathy was honored with the Global Agriculture Leadership Award in 2016 and Krishi Karman Award 2014-15 for his excellent work in the field of agriculture.