Internationally acclaimed Himachal scientist who founded Fruitipedia on lines of Wikipedia passes away in Mandi
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Dr Charanjeet played crucial role in horticultural research, authored several books too
The Newz Radar
MANDI: Internationally acclaimed scientist Dr Charanjeet Singh from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh passed away on Friday (December 15, 2023) morning after battling cancer for a brief period. He was 84.
Dr Parmar breathed his last at 7.30 am at his residence on Jail Road. His final rites were performed at the Hanuman Ghat crematorium in the city. He was undergoing treatment at PGIMER, Chandigarh.
He played a crucial role in horticultural research, particularly in the study of wild fruits in the Himalayas. He has authored several books related to his research in the field of horticulture.
Born on May 16, 1939, he graduated from Vijay High School in Mandi in 1955 and later obtained a BSc degree in Agriculture from Punjab Agricultural College, Ludhiana, in 1959. He completed his MSc in Horticulture in 1961 and later earned a PhD in Fruit Science from Udaipur University in 1972.
Throughout his illustrious 61-year career, Dr Parmar contributed to various projects for the Himachal Pradesh government, Indian and foreign universities, and numerous national and international companies. He extensively travelled to more than 34 countries across the globe for research purposes.
In one of his blogs, he writes, “I started working on fruits in 1962. In this connection, I travelled widely in India and all continents of the world. During this period, I not only saw new fruits but also met a wide variety of people and had equally wide variety of social and cultural experiences.”
The globally acclaimed scientist was the first fruit scientist in India to study and research wild fruits in the mountains and gained international recognition for his expertise in Himalayan wild fruits. He wrote three books and numerous articles on wild fruits found in the Himalayas.
He was also a prolific writer, with hundreds of articles on fruits published in Indian and foreign newspapers and magazines. His weekly cartoon strip, “Fruit Facts”, appeared in The Tribune for three years, and his regular column “HT Agriculture” was published in Hindustan Times for over two and a half years.
In the last 15 years, Dr Parmar compiled the online encyclopedia “Fruitipedia”, featuring information on 562 different fruits worldwide. The encyclopedia, housed at IIT Mandi’s Kamand campus, has garnered over 30 million views, with 1,000 to 1,500 daily visitors. Dr Parmar also established a botanical garden at IIT-Mandi’s Kamand campus, introducing various fruit and vegetable varieties for educational purposes.
Being highly active on social media, he shared his battle with cancer on his Facebook page for other cancer survivors as an inspiration. He remained associated with the Rotary Club of Mandi for more than three decades and occupied several key posts in the club. He is survived by his wife, daughter, son-in-law and a grandson.
