PremiumThe 94-year-old, Padma Vibhushan and Padma Shri awardee was admitted to the hospital after his oxygen levels started fluctuating on May 8 The environmentalist had fought for the preservation of forests in the Himalayas for years
President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday condoled the death of renowned environmentalist Sundarlal Bahuguna. The Chipko movement leader succumbed to COVID-19 infection at All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh on Friday.
The 94-year-old, Padma Vibhushan and Padma Shri awardee was admitted to the hospital after his oxygen levels started fluctuating on May 8.
The environmentalist had fought for the preservation of forests in the Himalayas for years. He is hugely credited for the success of the Chipko movement that began in 1973 at the foothills of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand (then a part of Uttar Pradesh). The environment activist was also actively involved in the Anti-Tehri Dam movement.
The President and PM remembers the environmentalist
The President called the death of Bahuguna as an end of a glorious chapter in the field of conservation.
From his official account, Kovind tweeted, "The demise of Sunderlal Bahuguna marks the end of a glorious chapter in the field of conservation. A 'Padma Vibhushan' awardee, he was a Gandhian to the core. A legend in his own right, he made conservation a people's movement. My condolences to his family and admirers."
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister, remembering his contributions, said he manifested the ethos of living in harmony with nature.
"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," he said.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat also mourned the demise of the environmental activist and prayed for peace of the departed soul.
The daily rise in coronavirus cases in India remained below 3 lakh for the fifth consecutive day with 2.59 lakh new cases recorded in a single day, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.
With the fresh cases, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases climbed to 2,60,31,991. The death toll climbed to 2,91,331 with 4,209 daily deaths, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The active cases further reduced to 30,27,925 comprising 11.63 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate improved to 87.25 per cent. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,27,12,735, while the case fatality rate has increased to 1.12 per cent, the data stated.
(With inputs from agencies)
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