Ex-Uttarakhand cabinet minister & BJP leader Kedar Singh Phonia dies at 92

DEHRADUN: Former cabinet minister and senior BJP leader Kedar Singh Phonia, who was 92, passed away on Friday at Dehradun following a prolonged illness.
Former MLA from Badrinath constituency in Chamoli district, Phonia served as the tourism minister in the Kalyan Singh government in undivided Uttar Pradesh in the early 90s. He was also the tourism and PWD minister in the interim government in Uttarakhand headed by Nityanand Swami and later by Bhagat Singh Koshiyari.
Phonia is considered instrumental in putting the famous skiing destination Auli in Chamoli district on the international tourism map.
He last won an election from Badrinath seat on a BJP ticket in 2007 assembly elections. However, he was not inducted in the Khanduri cabinet.
Unhappy over not getting a ticket in 2012 polls, Phonia left BJP and fought the poll unsuccessfully as an independent candidate. Before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he made a return to BJP.
Expressing his condolences over his death, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami wrote on Twitter, “It is very sad to hear about Kedar Singh Phonia’s demise. I pray for peace to the departed soul and strength to his family to bear the loss.”
Uttarakhand assembly speaker Ritu Khanduri also condoled Phonia’s demise in a tweet.