Noted environmentalist Dr Kishan Rao passes away

Dr Allani Kishan Rao was known as a people's doctor for offering health services charging nominally

Sangareddy: Noted environmentalist Dr Allani Kishan Rao (86), who played a key role in fighting against polluting industries in the Patancheru area, passed away due to prolonged illness at his residence at Nandigama in Patancheru mandal on Sunday.

Dr Rao was born in Manmul village in Patancheru mandal in 1938. Rao, who completed his MBBS, had set up a private hospital in Patancheru in 1977. He was known as a people’s doctor for offering health services charging nominally. As Patancheru started growing as an industrial hub for bulk drug companies, Dr Rao joined the Citizens Against Pollution Forum organisation influenced by another well-known environmentalist Purushottam Reddy in 1986. Since then, the doctor turned environmentalist played a vital role in getting safe drinking water to villages in the Patancheru area besides highlighting the struggles of citizens living in the Patancheru area. He had highlighted how the bulk drug industries were harming the lives of residents by filing cases in courts, National Green Tribunal, and also presenting papers in national and international symposiums during the last four decades.

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He won several awards and rewards for his work throughout his life. Environmentalists across the State expressed shock over his demise.