Kolkata :

Former director of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) Asish Kumar Ghosh passed away on Monday morning at the age of 81. He was battling throat cancer.

The first Environment Monitoring Wing in ZSI (Kolkata and Chennai) was started under his leadership in the early 1980s. Ghosh was also the founder-director of Centre for Environment & Development in Kolkata, which conducted several seminal studies on the city’s environment.

A Fulbright scholar and Rockefeller Foundation grantee, Ghosh studied in University of Calcutta and University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA. He had written extensively on biodiversity conservation, natural resource management, and on environment and development. Between 1992 and 1996, Ghosh led the Indian delegation to Ramsar Convention on international wetlands in Japan, besides representing the country in several other international meets.

Ghosh also served as guest faculty in many reputed institutes. He had mentored many environment scientists and environmentalists.

Environmental activist Bonani Kakkar said, “Ghosh had the courage to submit an affidavit supporting the public in the wetlands case while still in office. His death is a terrible loss to those who care for our environment and the city.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Kolkata News / TNN / April 03rd, 2018