Green crusader Sunderlal Bahuguna succumbs to Covid at 94

New Delhi, May 21

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Renowned environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna, who pioneered the Chipko movement of the seventies that saw people hugging and holding on to trees to prevent their felling by forest contractors, died of Covid today. He was 94.

• Editorial: Bahuguna’s legacy

Bahuguna breathed his last at the AIIMS in Rishikesh where he was admitted after testing positive for the virus. He had been critical since last night after his oxygen level dropped drastically.

Born in Tehri (Uttarakhand) on January 9, 1927, the green crusader fought for the cause of environment throughout his life and inspired many to join his movement. Referred to as the gentle warrior, Bahuguna’s Chipko movement led to the enactment of a law banning the felling of trees in eco-sensitive forest belts. He started social activism quite early in life with movements against untouchability and later for liquor ban. He undertook several fasts to protest the construction of big dams, mainly Tehri project.

Leading a life inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and concepts of non-violence and satyagraha, Bahuguna saw himself as a guardian of the ecology of the Himalayas.

A winner of several prestigious awards, it is said he refused to accept Padma Shri in 1981 as the felling of trees was rampant in the Himalayas. He was awarded Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour, for environment conservation in 2009.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the death a “monumental loss” for the nation. President Ram Nath Kovind said the demise marked the end of a glorious chapter in the field of conservation. Former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said Bahuguna’s 4,000-km foot march from Kashmir to Kohima in 1981-82 was a historic step towards green conservation. — TNS