Cuttack: Eminent Odisha poet Jayanta Mahapatra defeated COVID-19 and was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday.
The 93-year-old poet was hospitalised on May 31 after his condition deteriorated due to COVID-19. He was undergoing treatment at the SCB Medical College & Hospital in Cuttack. The nonagenarian fought the battle and recovered from the infection following 16-day-long treatment by a team of doctors at the hospital.
According to reports, Mahapatra was admitted to the ICU of the SCB COVID Hospital after he was diagnosed with COVID-19 last month. Initially, he complained of breathlessness. Gradually, his oxygen level came under control. He did not require oxygen support in last 48 hours.
Mahapatra is the first poet in the country to have won the Sahitya Akademi Award for English poetry. He is credited with the works — ‘Indian Summer’ and ‘Hunger’, the classics in modern Indian English literature.
He was also conferred with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, in the year 2009. However, he returned the prestigious award in 2015 to protest against moral asymmetry in the country.
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