PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
Former chief minister of Uttarakhand and Union cabinet minister major general (retd) Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri died on Tuesday. He was 91 and was suffering from age related ailments for quite some time. Khanduri breathed his last at the Max super- speciality hospital. Born on October 1, 1934 in Dehradun to father Jai Ballabh Khanduri and mother Durga Devi, Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri pursued studies in science at Allahabad University from 1951 to 1953.In 1954, he was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army.
Later, from 1957 to 1959, he studied Civil Engineering at the College of Military Engineering, Pune. He also underwent training at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, and the Reserve Staff College in England in 1969. In 1973–74, he attended the Institute of Defence Management, Secunderabad and in 1976, the Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi, enhancing his expertise in administration. In his military career, Khanduri participated in the 1962 Indo-China war, and the Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971.
During his military career, he served as director of Management Studies at Army Headquarters, New Delhi, commanded an Engineer Brigade at Meerut and worked as Chief Engineer in the Siliguri region of West Bengal. He also served as deputy and additional military secretary in Army Headquarters and as additional director general in the Engineer-in-Chief Branch. In recognition of his distinguished and dedicated service, the Government of India conferred upon him the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) on January 26, 1982. He retired as a major general in 1990–91.
In 1991, Khanduri was elected for the first time as a Member of Parliament from Garhwal Lok Sabha. He was elected again as MP in 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2014.
He was appointed as minister of state (independent charge) for Road Transport and Highways in November 2000 and was elevated to the rank of cabinet minister in May 2003 under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Khanduri played a pivotal role in advancing the National Highways Development Project and the ambitious Golden Quadrilateral project connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata.
On March 8, 2007, he took oath as CM of Uttarakhand for the first time and served until 27 June 2009. The political compulsions forced the BJP leadership to appoint him the CM for the second term on September 11, 2011. The BJP fought the elections of 2012 under his leadership with the slogan ‘ Khanduri Hai Jaroori’. Khanduri got popularity for his uncompromising stand against corruption and the implementation of a strong Lokayukta law.
