Mr P. V. Satheesh (77), founder and Executive Director of Deccan Development Society (DDS) passed away on Sunday morning, March 19. He had been under treatment at a private hospital in Hyderabad for a prolonged illness. Last rites will be performed on Monday at 10.30 am in Pastapur Village of Sangareddy district.
Satheesh became, over years of dedicated work, an icons of community building and civil society activism in India, Mr. Satheesh, through the Zaheerabad-based organisation in rural Telangana, championing issues of agri-biodiversity, food sovereignty, women’s empowerment, social justice, local knowledge systems, participatory development, and community media.
The women’s sanghams of DDS and their steadfast adherence to millet cultivation and organic agriculture led the way nationally in offering demonstrable alternatives to the dominant agricultural paradigm. The recent efforts to incorporate millets into the public distribution system owes much to the work of DDS under his guidance.