Bhubaneswar: Bijay Kumar Swain (77), an ardent environment and forestry professional and Indian Forest Service official, who was highly committed to research and innovation in the fields of Forestry, Silviculture, Bamboo Forest Management, Medicinal Plants of Odisha, and Community Forest Management, passed away at a city-based hospital yesterday.
Swain had been a brilliant student throughout his career and had visited Oxford University. After his superannuation in 2008, he pursued his research on the glorious Maritime History of Kalinga. He made a point to visit ancestral locations and read Sanskrit inscriptions to explore the Kalinga tradition. He has written two books, The Kalinga Heritage and Kalinga – Pioneer of Indianisation of Southeast Asia.
He has two daughters Dr Roma Rattan MBBS (MD) now – Joint DMET and Shrimati Roopa Roshan Sahoo, a senior IAS Officer, presently serving as RDC Southern Division.
His son-in-law Dr Debashish Nayak is a senior consultant in Apollo Hospital, a Cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon and younger son-in-law, Shri Anup Kumar Sahoo a senior IPS Officer serving as IGP BPSPA, Bhubaneswar. He is survived by his wife Smt Jayanti Swain, two daughters, son-in-laws and grandchildren Rajin, Riddhi and Kuhu.