Senior journalist VV Deekshitulu passes away at 76 in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: Renowned journalist and former Editor of the Telugu daily ‘Andhra Prabha’, V Vasudeva Deekshitulu, breathed his last on Friday.  He was 76 years old. He is survived by his wife and three daughters. He was admitted to a private hospital in Secunderabad, where he passed away on Friday due to cardiac arrest. 

His body was taken to his home in Sainikpuri and his last rites would be performed on Saturday. 

VV Deekshithulu started his journalism career in 1967 as a sub-editor in Andhra Prabha and was trained by late P Nageswara Rao.  He was elevated to the position of Deputy Editor in 1988 and Executive Editor in 1990. He later took over as the Editor in 1991 and left his mark in all spheres of journalism.

Before joining journalism, Deekshitulu, a native of East Godavari in Andhra Pradesh, had worked for the Ministry of Defence in Pune. 

After serving as an Editor for a long time at Andhra Prabha, he was appointed as the Chairman of Andhra Pradesh Press Academy post-retirement.  

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed his condolences on the demise of the senior journalist. Rao said that the demise of Deekshitulu is an irreparable loss to the field of journalism. He conveyed his condolences to the members of the bereaved family.

In a statement, TPCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy and former PCC chiefs Ponnala Laxmaiah and V Hanumantha Rao said his death was a great loss to the field of journalism.

Meanwhile,  president of the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) Amar Devulapalli and other senior journalists expressed their condolences on his demise.