Renowned environmental activist and former Indian Forest Service officer Manoj Misra breathed his last at 12.40 pm on Sunday, leaving behind a legacy of battles fought to safeguard precious forests and rivers. He was 68.
Misra, who tested positive for COVID-19 on April 8, was undergoing treatment since April 10. The conservation community, including members of the Indian Forest Service fraternity, mourned his passing and hailed his tireless efforts to safeguard forests and rivers.
Delhi Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has expressed his shock and pain at Misra's "untimely demise". "He remained a warrior for the cause of environment and a son of river Yamuna, consistently striving for her revival. His passing away leaves us bereft of a valuable fellow traveler on path of rejuvenating Yamuna," Saxena said on Twitter.
Congress leader and former Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh expressed sadness at Misra's death and said, "Deeply distressed to learn of the passing away of Manoj Misra, an indefatigable environmentalist. He was particularly passionate about the protection of rivers and spent much of his time on the revival of the Yamuna. "He helped me in the drafting of the first set of rules for River Regulation Zone, much along the lines of the Coastal Regulation Zone rules. Sadly, we still don’t have enforceable RRZ rules."
Born in Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, Misra's early life was shaped by his love for nature and the environment. He pursued his education from Pant Nagar University in Uttarakhand and later at Allahabad University.
In 1979, he joined the Indian Forest Service. He belonged to the Madhya Pradesh cadre and served in various capacities across the country. Misra opted for voluntary retirement in 2001.
In 2007, he founded the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan, a movement dedicated to the revival of the river. Misra fought numerous legal battles to protect the Yamuna and its floodplains, taking a stand against the construction of a metro depot (2007), a Millennium Bus depot (2011), dumping of construction debris (2012), covering of stormwater drains (2013), pollution in the Hindon river (2014), construction of an elevated road without environmental study (2015) and a cultural festival organised by the Art of Living.
