Nagpur: The city lost a prominent voice in agriculture on Monday as noted expert Amitabh Motiram Pawde (61) succumbed to injuries in a road accident within Dhantoli Police Station limits.
Police said Pawde, a resident of Sathe Marg, Dhantoli, was riding his motorcycle (MVJ-7904) around 1.30 pm to KRIMS Hospital for a routine check-up. Near Rathi Nursing Home, his vehicle collided with a Bullet (MH-31/FY-6824) coming from another direction. Pawde, who was not wearing a helmet, sustained a severe head injury. Though passers-by rushed him to a nearby private hospital, doctors declared him dead at 5.15 pm.
On a complaint filed by his relative Swati Pawde, police registered a case against the Bullet rider, who fled the scene and is being traced through the bike number.
Pawde had earlier served as an Executive Engineer with the Airport Authority of India, contributing to the development of terminals, radars, towers and runways at several airports including Ahmedabad, Bhopal and Indore. He also supervised 24 airports in the Northeast. For the past two decades, he dedicated himself to agriculture, pioneering experiments in cotton, orange, soybean and corn cultivation while guiding farmers across the region. He was also active in farmer movements, served as President of Jawahar Education Society, and was associated with Jan Manch.
His untimely demise has cast a pall of grief over Nagpur and the farming community, who remember him as a visionary committed to innovation and farmer welfare.