Sundarlal Bahuguna, noted environmentalist and Chipko movement leader, dies of COVID-19

Bahuguna was admitted to a hospital after his family claimed he was complaining of having a fever on May 9.

New Delhi: Noted environmentalist, leader of the Chipko movement and Padma Vibhushan awardee, Sunderlal Bahuguna, succumbed to COVID-19 on Friday (May 21) at AIIMS Rishikesh.

He was 94 years-old and was known for his passion for environmentalism. 

Bahuguna was admitted to a hospital after his family claimed he was complaining of having a fever.

After testing positive for COVID-19, he recieved treatment from the hospital but unfortunately did not recover.

Meanwhile, India reported 2,59,591 new COVID-19 cases and 4,209 deaths in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry informed on Friday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), as many as 3,57,295 people recovered from the COVID-19 disease across the country in the last 24 hours, which is more than the fresh cases reported.

"The cumulative caseload in India now stands at 2,60,31,991. There are 30,27,925 active COVID cases in the country," the Ministry said.

As many as 2,91,331 people have succumbed to the COVID-19 infection in India, while the recovery tally has mounted to 2,27,12,735.