Born on October 18, 1918, former PWD Minister, freedom fighter and social reformer, nonagenarian Pt Gauri Prasad breathed his last on Sunday morning in his ancestral home.
Prasad was the last remnant of the era when honest, selfless and dedicated persons adorned the Indian National Congress unlike the scammers of today. The 96-year-old Gauri Prasad was not keeping well for the last 23 months with multiple old age problems. He also was suffering from eye ailments.
He had attained education of Ayurveda at lahore and completed his studies in 1933. Surcharged with a zeal and zest for social service and patriotism, he plunged into the freedom struggle at the tender age of mere 15 years in 1933. He had joined Praja Mandal movement in 1940 which was spearheading freedom struggle against the princely rulers who had been perpetrating atrocities against their subjects through infamous Begar System i.e., forcing people to work without wages.
Prasad remained president of Mandi State Praja Mandal from 1940 to 1947. As a PWD Minister in the Dr YS Parmar Cabinet, he constructed direct Mandi — Shimla road whereby three-day long journey from Mandi to Shimla was curtailed to 12 hours in the beginning and later to mere 5-6 hours. Earlier people from Mandi had to negotiate a long detour via Ambala for reaching Shimla from Mandi.
Prasad is still remembered with love and affection by the people of Mandi in particular and Himachal Pradesh in general for generating employment for thousands of youths during his tenure as Minister. Health Minister, Thakur Kaul Singh and Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister, Anil Sharma expressed their deep condolence over the demise of Pt Gauri Prasad. Prasad was cremated at Hanuman Ghat on the banks of the Beas this evening.