Odisha accords state funeral to Padma awardee tea seller
The Odisha government on Thursday accorded Cuttack-based tea seller Devarapalli Prakash Rao, a Padma Shri awardee, a state funeral following his demise due to post-covid-19 complications.
Rao, 63, died at the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack on Wednesday afternoon. He had tested positive for Covid-19 last month.
Political leaders across party lines expressed their condolences. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had met Rao at the sidelines of a rally in Cuttack in 2018, tweeted: “Saddened by the demise of Shri D Prakash Rao. The outstanding work that he has done will continue motivating people. He rightly saw education as a vital means to empowerment.”
Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik tweeted, “Good Samaritan will always be remembered for his dedication to uplift the lives of children.”
Rao was conferred the Padma Shri in 2019 for his efforts
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towards educating underprivileged children in the district.
In 2000, Rao started the school, Asha O Ashwasana, from his two-room home in Buxibazar slum for the children of rickshaw-pullers, house helps, daily wage earners and municipal workers. In the face of opposition from the parents of these children, Rao started feeding the children milk and biscuits as mid-day meal.
“I wanted to study, but my father who was a World War II veteran thought studies were a waste of time. So I joined his tea shop at the age of eight,” Rao had said a few years ago in an interview in 2018 to HT.
“I wanted to become a doctor but ended up becoming a chaiwala (tea seller). I knew what it was like to not have any opportunities. I did not want these kids to meet the same fate as me,” he had said. Rao funded the school through earnings from his tea stall. From every cup of tea sold, he used half the amount for the school.
“The usual refrain was what would they (the children) do after studying? Why are you depriving us from earning extra by sending the kids to school,” Rao said quoting his neighbours who were against educating their children. Over 20 years, Rao was able to enroll over 100 children in his school that started with just four.the school is running from the same premises near his home.
Rao’s wife P Vijaylakshmi, 58, a nurse with the SCB Medical College and Hospital, sustained their family with her income. The couple has two daughters.
In a tribute to Rao’s services to the district, the Cuttack administration on Thursday assured his daughter, B Bhanupriya, that it will take over his school.
“I have not received anything in writing,” Bhanupriya, who is now running the school, said.