By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister B C khanduri passed away on Tuesday following a prolonged illness at a hospital in Dehradun. He was 91.
He left behind by his wife Aruna, daughter Ritu Khanduri, who is Vidhan Sabha Speaker, and son Manish.
The Uttarakhand government has declared a public holiday on May 20 as a mark of respect to the departed soul. He will be cremated at Haridwar on May 20. A state of mourning for three days beginning from May 19 has also bee declared.
Khanduri, who was also a Cabinet Minister in the Atal Behari Vajpayee government, was admitted in the ICU after he developed some old age-related complications since last year. During his tenure as Union Minister for Roads and Highways, India made rapid progress in the road development especially highways. He was also the brain behind India’s first Golden Quadrilateral linking all the four corners by super highways. Khanduri is also known for bringing the first MSME policy for the hills of Uttarakhand.
He was considered as a honest politician and brought the Lokyukta Act in Uttarakhand against corruption which was later scrapped by his detractors both in Congress and the ruling BJP.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who repeatedly visited hospital to inquire his health, expressed condolences over his death.