Uttarakhand statehood activist and former chairperson of the state women’s commission Sushila Balooni has passed away at 84 on Tuesday in a private hospital in Dehradun. Her passing away has sent a shock wave across the state. Governor Lt. General (Retd) Gurmit Singh and Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami have condoled the passing away of veteran statehood activist.
Governor Lt. General (Retd.) Gurmit Singh, condoled the demise of Uttarakhand statehood activist and former Chairperson of Uttarakhand Women’s Commission, Sushilla Balooni. He prayed for peace to the departed soul and offered deep condolences to the bereaved family members. Governor said that the contribution made by late Sushila Balooni, an icon of struggle for statehood and towards creation of Uttarakhand state will be remembered forever.
Chief Minister Pushkar Shing Dhami has also expressed grief over the demise of Sushila Balooni. He prayed for peace to the departed soul and strength to the bereaved family members to bear the loss. The Chief Minister said that the contribution of Sushila Balooni in the creation of a separate Uttarakhand will always be remembered.
Other cabinet members including Satpal Maharaj, Subodh Uniyal, Dhan Singh Rawat, Ganesh Joshi have expressed shock and grief over the passing away of Sushila Balooni. They have wished for peace to the departed soul and strength for the bereaved family to bear the loss.
It may be recalled that Balooni was one of the leading lights of the agitation for separate Uttarakhand in the nineties and her contribution to the statehood movement that finally paved way for creation of separate Uttarakhand is well known and respected. She had contested the first Mayoral poll in Dehradun as an independent candidate. Later however, she joined BJP. she had been appointed as Chairperson of State Women’s Commission and also had been appointed as Chairperson of Rajya Andolankari Parishad (Council for Statehood Agitationists). As the chairperson of Rajya Andolankari Parishad, she had played a key role in identification of the statehood agitationists.
