Guwahati, March 1: Writer Bhadra Bora, known for his satiric writings in Assamese, passed away in a private hospital here at 7 this morning. He was suffering from lungs and heart diseases.

Bora was 82 and is survived by two sons and a daughter.

Bora had a special position in the state's literary circle for taking forward icon Lakshminath Bezbaroa's legacy of satire.

A postgraduate in library science, Bora had six books to his credit. These include satirical writings, translations and a collection of articles.

A former head of Gauhati University's library science department, Bora had played a lead role in the state's library movement. He had worked as the librarian of Assam Legislative Assembly and become its research officer.

Bora started writing satires in 1951 and continued doing so till the last days of his life. He used to pen regular columns in many Assamese newspapers and magazines. One of these was Mukoli Dusinta, a vernacular daily, in which he wrote from 1997 till his death.

Condoling the writer's death, Asam Sahitya Sabha said in a message that Bora's demise was a huge loss to Assamese society.

Lakhinandan Bora, a former president of the Sabha, said, "After Lakshminath Bezbaroa's death, satiric literature was lost in Assam. It was revived by Bhadra Bora. His demise is a great loss."

Paying tribute to Bora, journalist Radhika Mohan Bhagawati said he was a rare personality in literature. "We were friends from our college days. I saw his work very closely. The void formed by his demise cannot be filled by anyone. He was an educationist-cum-writer. He wrote about social issues very sensitively. He had a unique sense of humour."

At the time of his death, Bora was writing the history of satire in Assam. Script writer Prabhat Goswami said the duty to complete the work now falls on other writers.