Noted folk singer of Telangana V Saichander dies of cardiac arrest at 39

Saichander is survived by his wife and two children.

After the creation of Telangana, Saichander had joined Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and was made the chairman of the State Warehousing Corporation. The singer, popularly known as Saichand, will be remembered for his contribution through his folk songs during the cultural movement during the Telangana separate state movement. He was a regular at all the major protests and agitations for nearly three years prior to the bifurcation in June 2014.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao expressed profound shock on Thursday over the sudden demise of Saichander, whom he referred to as a people’s artist. The CM said Saichand’s role during the Telangana cultural movement will remain immortal and remembered his contribution through his songs during the cultural movement in the second phase of Telangana struggle. The CM said his public meetings would not have been possible without Saichand’s cultural programmes.

KCR condoled the death and said he is distressed that Saichand died at an early age. “Telangana society lost a great singer and artist,” the Chief Minister said, adding that Saichand possessed exceptional talent as a singer from his childhood.

The chief minister added, “The demise of Saichand, who ignited the spirit of Telangana movement in the previous years and awareness on development through his songs over the last few years, is an irreparable loss.”

KCR also met Saichand’s family and condoled them for their loss. BRS ministers and leaders, including K T Rama Rao, T Harish Rao and Talasani Srinivas Yadav expressed their shock and grief. Telangana leaders like TPCC chief A Revanth Reddy and BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar also expressed their grief.