• Renowned environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna, who pioneered the ‘Chipko movement’, died of COVID-19 in Rishikesh. He was 94.

• Conferred with many honours for his pioneering work in the field of environment protection, Bahuguna also led protests against the construction of the Tehri dam on Bhagirathi river.

Pioneer of the ‘Chipko movement’

• Born on January 9, 1927 in Tehri Garhwal district of present Uttarakhand, Bahuguna is considered the pioneer of the ‘Chipko movement’ of the 1970s which he had launched along with dedicated environment conservationists like Gaura Devi to save forests.

• Started by Bahuguna at the foothills of the Himalayas in 1973 in Uttarakhand, then a part of Uttar Pradesh, the ‘Chipko movement’ was a forest conservation movement. It later became a rallying point for many environmental movements all over the world.

• It was named “Chipko” as people hugged trees during the movement to spread the message of loving and protecting trees.

• He coined the slogan ‘ecology is permanent economy’.

• He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian honour, in 2009.

• In 1981, he had refused to accept the Padma Shri over the government’s refusal to cancel the Tehri dam project.

• He undertook several ‘padyatras’ to create awareness among people about conserving the Himalayan ecology and environment.

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