Time and tide wait for none. Two years have elapsed since the death of Odisha Television Limited’s star reporter Arindam Das. Going by the date, today is the second death anniversary of Arindam.
On September 24, 2021, Arindam breathed his last while covering a rescue operation of an elephant near Mundali in Mahanadi river in Cuttack.
Das had been on a boat with OTV cameraperson Prabhat Sinha and members of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF). They were on their way to rescue an elephant stuck near a bridge. The powerboat they had boarded overturned due to the strong current in the river. Aridam along with the cameraman were rushed to SCB Medical College and Hospital. But Arindam was declared dead.
Though, Arindam has left his mortal body, his memory is still fresh in the memory of his colleagues, friends, and people of Odisha.
The daredevil journalist is still mourned by his colleagues, who recalled him as a lively, brave, and easy-going soul.
Moreover, when a natural calamity strikes Odisha, news lovers across the State still remember the weatherman. Arindam stood out among his peers in reporting about cyclones, floods, left-wing extremism, or any other natural calamity and disaster-related situations. His versatility had made him unique as a journalist as he covered almost every beat.
Arindam had never stuck to stereotypes and was always thinking out of the box while reporting. His predilection towards daredevilry reporting made him encounter the scariest of cyclones and floods to bring the latest updates from ground zero.
Arindam’s unmatched passion for walking the extra mile to collect exciting news for the viewers had earned him admiration from across households in Odisha.
Though Arindam left for the heavenly abode too early at the age of 39, his friends and followers still find it difficult that the passionate journalist is no more among them. He might not be present among us in the form of a human body, but his spirit is still alive among us.
Young and aspiring journalists in Odisha still cherish Arindam’s memory and draw inspiration from his example on how to follow their passion with unwavering focus and dynamism.