The demise of noted environmentalist and leaderSunderlal Bahuguna, 94, is a personal loss for the eco fragile hill district ofWayanad, which had been dear to the heart of the green crusader.
Bahuguna had visited Wayanad several times to take part in various environmental agitations waged by Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithi (WPSS) to protect the forests of the hill district and shared closed Bonds with the leaders of the Samithi.
The tree-hugging Chipko movement led by Bahuguna against deforestation in the Himalayan region had inspired a silent tree embracing agitation in Wayanad in 1977 itself when hundreds of people, including farmers and tribals, embraced the centuryold trees marked by state forest department for clear felling at the Kallur reserve forest near Noolpuzha.