Sunderlal Bahuguna Chipko movement Leader, Noted Environmentalist Dies of Covid

Noted environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna passed away on Friday afternoon due to COVID-19. He breathed his last at AIIMS in Rishikesh, news agency PTI reported quoting hospital authorities.

Bahuguna died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences here on Friday after battling COVID-19 for several days. He was 94. He breathed his last at 12.05 pm, AIIMS Director Ravikant said.

PM Narendra Modi also took to Twitter to express remorse over Bahuguna's death.

Condoling the death, 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.

(PTI)