Dehradun: Sunderlal Bahuguna, a celebrated environmentalist and leader of the Chipko Movement, lost his life to Covid-19 today. He was 94. He was undergoing treatment for Coronavirus at AIIMS Rishikesh. He was also suffering from pneumonia, a case of comorbidity in coronavirus cases. “Chipko movement leader Sundarlal Bahuguna died of COVID19 at AIIMS, Rishikesh today,” AIIMS administration informed. The environmentalist will be cremated at the Ganges in Rishikesh.

Condoling his death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “Passing away of Shri Sunderlal Bahuguna Ji is a monumental loss for our nation. He manifested our centuries-old ethos of living in harmony with nature. His simplicity and spirit of compassion will never be forgotten. My thoughts are with his family and many admirers. Om Shanti.”

Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat described it as a big loss not just for Uttarakhand and India but for the entire world. “It was he who made the Chipko movement a movement of the masses,” Rawat said.

Bahuguna, one of India’s best-known environmentalists, was admitted to the hospital on May 8 after testing positive for Covid. He had been critical since last night with his oxygen level dropping drastically. He was on CPAP therapy in the ICU of the premier hospital.