Sunderlal Bahuguna, the celebrated environmentalist dies at the age of 94 Infected with Covid 19 virus he breathes his last at AIIMS Rishikesh.

Ajay Ramola

GG News Bureau
Dehradun,21 May. Sunderlal Bahuguna noted Garhwali environmentalist and civil society activist, one of the pioneers of the Chipko movement, and vocal against the constructions of large dams, has died at the age of 94. The renowned environmentalist has infected with Covid -19 virus and was undergoing treatment at AIIMS in Rishikesh where he saw several ups and downswings in his health, but finally breathed his last around 12 noon on Friday. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat has condoled the death of Sundar Lal Bahuguna.
Sundar Lal Bahuguna adopted the principles of Mahatma Gandhi throughout his life. He was born on January 9, 1927, at Marora village in Tehri district. His father Amba Dutt was a forest officer in the Tehri state. Sundar Lal met the revered martyr Shridev Suman when he was 13 years old and that changed his direction in life forever. Inspired by Suman, launched an agitation against the Tehri state. Sundar Lal Bahuguna was educated at Government Pratap Inter College Tehri. On his return to Tehri after graduating BA Honours examination from Lahore in 1947, he became active in the Praja Mandal against the Tehri state. In the 1970s, he launched a campaign on environmental protection, which had a huge impact across the country. He jointly with his wife launched an agitation for banning liquor and was instrumental in educating the girls and fought for their rights. He also worked for the entry of scheduled caste into the temples.
Bahuguna had famously coined the term ‘Ecology is Permanent Economy. In 1974 he shot to prominence through his 5,000-km-long Himalayan March during the Chipko movement. He also denied accepting the Padma Shri award by saying that that he cannot accept the award if trees were being cut.
BD Kasniyal an old acquaintance of Bahuguna who is a senior journalist said that it is a great loss to the state and the country. He deserves a full governmental protocol said Kasniyal. He visited Pithoragarh in 1977 – 80 and was a pioneer in promoting power generation at the micro level instead of big dams. His famous slogan was “(Dhar Ainch Dala, Bijlee Banawa Khala-khala) grow trees above the water source at height and generate power from that water at the micro level in every village). In 2019 Environmentalist led by Anil Joshi from HESCO dedicated Environment day to Sundar Lal Bhahuguna as a mark of respect. He considered the biggest ambassador of environment conservation.
Bahuguna, refused to accept the Padma Shri in 1981 while he was demanding a ban on the felling of trees. He received Jamnalal Bajaj Award in the year 1986, Right Livelihood Award in 1987, Honorary Degree of DSC by IIT Roorkee in the year 1989. In addition to that Padma Vibhushan in 2009, Rashtriya Ekta Puraskar, the Shere Kashmir Award and Visva Bharati Santiniketan university also conferred him the honorary doctorate