Noted environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna succumbed to Covid-19 at AIIMS Rishikesh on Friday, said hospital authorities. He was 94.
He had been critical since last night with his oxygen level dropping drastically, and was on CPAP therapy in the ICU of the premier hospital. He breathed his last at 12.05 pm, AIIMS Director Ravikant said.
Bahuguna, an eco activist, spent his life persuading and educating the villagers to protest against the destruction of the forests and Himalayan mountains.
The Chipko Movement had gained traction under Bahuguna, who is best remembered for the slogan “ecology is the permanent economy”.
The Chipko movement was a non-violent agitation in 1973 that was aimed at protection and conservation of trees, but, perhaps, it is best remembered for the collective mobilisation of women for the cause of preserving forests, which also brought about a change in attitude regarding their own status in society. The uprising against the felling of trees and maintaining the ecological balance originated in Uttar Pradesh’s Chamoli district (now Uttarakhand) in 1973 and in no time spilled onto other states in north India. The name of the movement ‘chipko’ comes from the word ’embrace’, as the villagers hugged the trees and encirled them to prevent being hacked.
Bahuguna gave a direction to the movement and his appeal to then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi resulted in a 15-year ban on chopping of green trees in 1980.
Later on, he used Gandhian methods like satyagraha and hunger strikes to protest the building of the Tehri dam in Uttarakhand on the Bhagirathi river.
