Tribute to media man Anil Mishra

Rayagada,(Badal Tah): A condolence meeting was organized at Sanskruti Bhawan to pay tribute to the demised editor and founder of Eastern Press Agency, Sr Juournalist Anil Prasad Mishra. President of Zilla Sambaika Sangha & Senior Journalist Dr. Badal Tah first lit the lamp and offered floral tributes at Mishra’s photo. The DIPRO Basant Pradhan laid wreaths on the photograph of Mishra after which journalists present offered floral wreaths. A two-minute silent prayer was offered by all present at the said condolence meeting. Tah said that Anil Prasad Mishra was presenting facts in his newspaper impartially and fearlessly, which earned him fame in the state and country. His death is certainly a big blow to the world of editors and journalists. His news editing inspired everyone and he will always be remembered among us.
 
Similarly, Rabindra Patkhandal, an of RTI Activist and district representative of SAMAYA Newspaper, said that Mishra was a committed and honest professional editor. His edits are said to be consistently memorable. Rayagada district representative of EPA Weekly Tirumala Prasad Patnaik said that as a very honest, fearless journalist, he worked as an editor for almost a decade. He never shied away  from his principles. Later in life he was interested in spirituality.
 
Anil breathed his last after suffering from prolonged health problems. He graduated in law and started his career in journalism in 1980. He started photojournalism in 1984 and was covering social, political, crime related events, investigative reporting on various issues and fearlessly covering true events at national and international level. He earned quite a reputation. He helped solve many problems in his life through his editing. Among them, he successfully covered the labor unrest at Paradip Port, the Burla student unrest and the murder of students there. The same year, police brutality acted against journalists in Odisha, including the death of noted journalist Swaroop Jena and the police firing in Astarang, which Mishra captured in his camera. Those were accepted as high standard circumstantial evidence by the judiciary. The story of Fanas Punji, a tribal woman from Kalahandi, who sold her seven-year-old daughter due to hunger, became an international issue is undoubtedly Mishra’s greatest achievement. His arrest in 1988 for shooting at slum dwellers in Bhubaneswar was also accepted as court evidence. Apart from these news photographs and photo features, Mishra captured the beauty of nature and wildlife with his camera, for which he has been awarded several times. In 1989 he produced a video film “Jug Sarathi” along with other documentaries on Biju Patnaik’s life story. His photographs of late Biju Patnaik in various moods and activities proved to be a rare collection and were published in almost all newspapers and magazines. Mishra also published a book “Smruti Biju Patnaik” which is a rare collection. He has become a role model for others. He guided many governments through his objective reports on various problems of the state and the country.
 
Today’s mourning was attended by Etv sr. journalist Ranjan Rath, Nandighosh TV district correspondent Ajay Rath, TV5 Odia Bureau Chief Dayananda Khadanga, Bijay Das, Ashutosh Patnaik and many other web media journalists. All the members of the journalist’s association in the district paid their tribute to Mishra while district representative Tirumala Prasad Patnaik moderated the gathering.