Dr Verghese Kurien, the frail old man who sparkled as a bright star on Indian cooperative scene not long ago, is no more.
He breathed his last in a hospital in Nadiad on Sunday morning. He is survived by wife and a daughter.
His end did not come owing to any disease as doctors treating him Muljibhai Patel Urological Hospital said it was age-related. By the age of 90, a number of faculties go weak as heart and lungs muscles find it hard to carry on the burden of breathing, sources add.
As if GCMMF had premonitions, its Managing Director RS Sodhi, former Chairman Parthi Bhatol and other officials had gathered in large number to celebrate his last birth day on 16th of November. Indian Cooperative.com had covered it extensively.
Condolences have begun to pour with the President of India Pranab Mukerjee calling it an irreparable loss. Incumbent Managing Director R S Sodhi was among a few who reached the hospital as soon as news of his death spread like wild fire.
One of the cooperators Mr Parasmani of Delhi who happened to know Kurien from old days when Kurien saw the dream of making India number one in milk production in the world, recalled his grit and determination.
“He would come clutching some papers, would ask us to organize a press conference , speak out his wooly ideas and vanish”, said Mr Parasmani going down the memory lane.
He achieved everything in his life time. He made India number one in milk production and ushered in milk revolution through Operation Flood. He made Amul, his pet project a force to reckon with.
Indian Cooperative.com salutes the king-size man! You can post your condolences in the comment box below. passed away early this morning at in neighbouring Nadiad town due to age-related problems, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) sources said.
He was 90 years old and is.
Kurien, who took India from being a milk-deficient country to the world’s largest milk producer, is recognized as the father of white revolution and the man who started ‘operation flood’, besides making the Amul dairy brand a household name.
GCMMF chairman M S Sodhi had reached the hospital, sources said.
Kurien’s 90th birthday was celebrated in a big way at his residence in Anand by the GCMMF on November 26 last year.
President Pranab Mukherjee today condoled the death of Dr Verghese Kurien, the father of India’s ‘white revolution’.
Mukherjee hailed Kurien as one who ushered in white revolution and had made enormous contributions to the fields of agriculture, rural development and dairying.
Kurien, 90, who took India from being a milk-deficient country to the world’s largest milk producer, passed away early this morning in Gujarat due to age-related problems.
He is recognised as the man who started ‘operation flood’, the largest diary development programme in the world, besides making the Amul brand a household name.