Environmentalist Vasant Takalkar dead

Environmentalist Vasant Takalkar,67,famous for the ‘Takalkar Pattern’ of continuous contour trenching,passed away on Saturday morning following a heart attack when he was guiding youths at a tree plantation drive on the Chatuhshrungi hill. For the past 37 years,Takalkar worked for the cause of forestation,carried out soil and moisture conservation activities through continuous contour trenching,spanning about 700 villages in five districts of the state and generated employment worth five million man days for transient and casual labour. The central government had noticed his work and awarded him Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Award. On Saturday,he had gone to Chatuhshrungi hill to participate in a two-day tree plantation drive organized by Youth to Youth,an NGO. He collapsed while working with the youths and was hospitalised. He died during treatment.