Activist GD Agarwal, who was on an indefinite fast to urge the government to clean river Ganga died on Thursday at the AIIMS hospital in Rishikesh. He was 87.
Agarwal, a former professor at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, began his fast on June 22 to protest the government’s alleged inaction in taking measures to make the Ganga free of pollution and free-flowing.
According to the reports, Aggarwal died due to Heart attack.
Activist Aggarwal sat on a fast-demanding step that would protect the river and maintain its uninterrupted flow between Gangotri and Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand.
However, Union Water Resources and Ganga River Rejuvenation Minister Nitin Gadkari issued a statement after his demise stating “most of the demands have been accepted”
Agarwal had sent several letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but the government paid no heed to his demands. “I have written several letters to PM Modi in the past addressing matters related to Gangaji, but I have not received any response from him,” Aggarwal had said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences on Twitter. “Saddened by the demise of Shri GD Agarwal Ji. His passion towards learning, education, saving the environment, particularly Ganga cleaning will always be remembered. My condolences,” the prime minister tweeted.
Agarwal had served as a Member-Secretary of the Central Pollution Control Board.
He formally renounced the world and adopted the name Swami Gyanswaroop Sanand in 2012.
