Man to reunite with kin after 40 yrs

Berhampur: A 75-year-old tribal man of a remote village in Gajapati district, who was separated from his family about 40 years ago, is set to reunite with them soon, thanks to the reach of social media.
Jagatapati Karji (real name Daya Bhuyan) of Abarasingh village in Rayagada block’s Talamanda village, who had gone to Arunachal Pradesh to do road construction work in the 1980s, remained stuck there despite his company winding up work for the last several years.
“He is likely to return to Gajapati on Wednesday as two persons, including the assistant labour officer (ALO) and one of his relatives, have already reached Arunachal Pradesh to bring him. The district administration has made all arrangements for his repatriation,” district collector (Gajapati) Anupam Saha said.
Karji or Daya was recognized by his younger brother and sister after a video of his story went viral. An Odia professor of Rajiv Gandhi University in Itanagar, SK Nayak, is coordinating with the administration through the former SP (Gajapati) Sarah Sharma to ensure his return. “Daya had been living in the house of a schoolteacher at Ziro in the lower Subansiri district after the latter rescued him from a nearby jungle,” Nayak said over phone. He added, “Daya had been eking out a living as a daily wager in the jungle. Owing to his old age, he could not earn much. Rubu Amma, a schoolteacher, took pity on him and had been providing him with food since last December.”
The Odia professor said, “He did not want to take any help from the government or from the Arunachal Pradesh Utkal Samaj (Odia association in the state) when he was admitted to a hospital recently and was full of praise for the tribal culture of Arunachal Pradesh. He had said the tribal culture of the state ensures that food is given to the needy. Else he would have died of starvation by now.” While staying with him, Amma came to know of his real identity. He made a video which soon went viral.