Acclaimed agriculturalist \'Nel\' Jayaraman passes away\, leaders pay tribute

Acclaimed agriculturalist 'Nel' Jayaraman passes away, leaders pay tribute

Published: Dec 06,201807:40 AM by DTNext Online Desk

Nel Jayaraman who was known for introducing more than 156 different paddy varieties passed away in a private hospital here on Thursday.

Chennai:
Nel Jayaraman, 54, was receiving treatment at the Teynampet Apollo Cancer Hospital. His condition deteriorated on Wednesday and he died in the early hours of Thursday morning.
He had been suffering from cancer for the past 2 years. 
Jayaraman started his journey with organic guru G Nammalwar and continued in his footsteps focusing on reviving traditional farming methods and preserving paddy seeds
'Honours'
He was named 'Nel' Jayaraman by farmers for preserving paddy seeds for more than 20 years.
In 2011, he received the State Award for best organic farmer.
He is a recipient of several prestigious awards like Krishi Ratna Award from Art of Living founder Pandit Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Srishti Sanman award from the government of India. 
Jayaraman is the State Co-ordinator of Save Our Rice Campaign. He also organized the first traditional paddy seed festival.
Tributes
He is survived by his wife and a 11 year old son.
Nel Jayaraman's mortal remains will kept for public homage till 5 pm today at his Rathna Nagar residence. Final rites are expected to take place tomorrow at his native village Kattimedu.