Bhubaneswar: Eminent litterateur and Sahitya Akademi Award recipient Chandrasekhar Rath passed away at a private hospital in Odisha capital on Friday. He was 89.

The renowned Odia author and poet had been selected for the Padma Shri award last month for his outstanding contribution to literature.

He breathed his last in the hospital while undergoing treatment as he was suffering from prolonged illness, family sources said.

Rath was a well-known name both in the fiction and non-fiction world.

Born on October 17, 1929, in Malpada in Balangir district, he did his post-graduation in English from Canning College, University of Lucknow, and was conferred a D.Litt from the same University in 2008. Later, the Utkal University of Culture also honoured him with a D.Litt in 2012.

He authored many books, including Yantrarudha, Asurya Upanivesh and Nav Jatak, among scores of others.

He received a couple of Odisha Sahitya Academi Awards, the prestigious Sarala Award and the national Sahitya Akademi Award.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and people from all walks of life paid rich tributes to Rath after his body arrived at his residence in the city.

Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also expressed condolences over his death. (IANS)