Bhubaneswar, June 19: War Veteran and founding Convenor of War Veteran Officers’ Association (WVOA), Odisha Colonel Upendra Nath Mohapatra passed away in Bhubaneswar on June 8, 2024. He was 83.
A prayer meeting was held on June 18. Officials from the 24 Infantry Division Signal Regiment and the WVOA laid wreaths with military honours.
Several eminent personalities including Justice Ashok Samantaray, Retired Judge, Orissa High Court; Justice Pramath Patnaik, Chairperson, RERA Tribunal and former Judge, Jharkhand/ Orissa High Court; Asit Tripathy, Chairman, WODC, and former Chief Secretary; Jalada Tripathy, State CIC and former TN DGP, Lt Gen Narayan Mohanty, President, WVOA, Sahadev Sahoo, former Chief Secretary, Amb Debraj Pradhan (Retd.), former Chief- Commissioners, Prasanna Dash, Piyush Patnaik, and Pradosh Mohanty, Prof PC Pati, former DPI, Dr Sidhant Kar, Dr Byomakesh Dikshit, Dr Ajoy Mishra, Brig (Dr) BN Panda, Dr Arjun Pani, Col Ashok Mohapatra (Retd), Prof Sarat Mishra, Abani Sahu, Advocate, Subrata Das, Editor, Prameya News, and BN Mishra, Chartered-Accountant paid their respects to Col Mohapatra at the meeting.
A prayer-meeting was also organised by Sri Sathya Sai Samiti.
Notably, Col Mohapatra joined the Army during the 1962 Sino-Indian War and served under Field Marshal Manekshaw’s command. He saw action in the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War. He was Commanding Officer, 356 Signal Regiment and 24 Infantry Division Signal Regiment. He was pall-bearer for President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed.
A public-spirited citizen, he made the pen his ‘sword’ – raising civic issues like parking, street-lighting, and cleanliness, and championed ex-servicemen’s causes. He founded the War Veteran Officers’ Association, Odisha. His efforts led to the establishment of the ECHS poly-clinic and rationalisation of parking charges in the city and airport. Himself an NCC alumnus, he encouraged the spread of NCC culture in the State.
