Bhubaneswar: Retired IFS officer Bijay Kumar Swain, an ardent environment and forestry professional passed away at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. He was 77.
Swain was highly committed to research and innovation in the fields of Forestry, Silviculture, Bamboo Forest Management, Medicinal Plants of Odihsa, and Community Forest Management.
He was a brilliant student throughout his career and had visited Oxford University. After his superannuation in 2008, he pursued his research into 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 is survived by two daughters Dr Roma Rattan MBBS (MD) now – Joint DMET and IAS officer Roopa Roshan Sahoo. His son-in-law Dr Debashish Nayak is a senior consultant at Apollo Hospital, a Cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon and younger son-in-law Anup Kumar Sahoo, IPS. He is survived by his wife Jayanti Swain, two daughters, son-in-laws and grandchildren Rajin, Riddhi and Kuhu.
