Veteran journalist Barendrakrushna Dhal dead

Veteran journalist and author Barendrakrushna Dhal died at his residence here today, his family members said.
He was 77 and is survived by two daughters and a son. Dhal's wife had passed away in January this year.
Dhal, who was suffering from renal and cardiac problems for some time, fell inside the bathroom this morning and passed away, his son said.
A large number of journalists, politicians, writers and others paid tribute to the noted columnist at his residence.
Born on March 25, 1941 in Cuttack district, Dhal began his journalistic career in 'Matrubhumi' in 1960 and worked there for about 25 years. He worked in different language newspapers like in Odia, English and Bengali. He was the state correspondent of Bengali daily 'Aajkal' till the last.

He was editor of Odia daily 'Swaraj' for a brief period.

He was also elected as the president of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ).
Dhal started the Bhubaneswar Bookfair in 1984 and received Sahitya Akademi award in 1993.
His last rites will be performed at Swarga Dwara in Puri tomorrow, his son said.