Former minister Nandan Dutta has passed away. A resident of Madhuban in Barahakshetra Municipality, Sunsari, Dutta died on Friday night due to a brain hemorrhage.
The 70-year-old leader was admitted to Nobel Medical College in Biratnagar after his health deteriorated. He passed away while undergoing treatment.
Dutta had twice served as chairperson from the Nepali Congress in the then Madhuban VDC. In the 2008 Constituent Assembly election, he was elected through the proportional representation system from the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum. Emerging from Madhes-centric politics, Dutta later became Minister for Agriculture in the Baburam Bhattarai-led government, representing the Forum Ganatantrik headed by Jay Prakash Gupta after the party split.
On Bhadra 2, 2065 BS, when the Sapta Koshi River breached the eastern embankment and flooded villages affecting around 42,000 people from four former VDCs, Dutta served as coordinator of the high-level commission formed by the government to determine land compensation and relief.
He also led task forces related to land compensation for Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and the victims of the Sapta Koshi disaster. Actively raising his voice on issues such as the Madhes movement, proportional representation, federalism, and inclusive rights, Dutta later returned to the Nepali Congress and became a central committee member.
He is survived by his wife, two sons, and a daughter. In recent years, he had been residing at his home in Teen Toliya, Biratnagar. According to the family, his last rites will be performed on Saturday afternoon at Singhiya Ghat.
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