Former deputy director of Agriculture dept dies in Ghana accident

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: N Sreekumar, the Ex-Deputy Director, of the Department of Agriculture, died in a car accident in Ghana. He has been working as an organic farming consultant in Ghana for the last six years. Sreekumar was a resident of Jawahar Nagar KV Gardens (KVG 5) in Thiruvananthapuram. He also ran an organization called Ramanadaja Foundation.

The accident happened when he was travelling in a minibus known as Tro-Tro heading towards Accra, the capital of Ghana. The back tire of the bus exploded causing the accident. Sreekumar's Malayali friend in Ghana, Joshua, informed his relatives about the accident on the 30th. The death news reached the family by Wednesday morning.

Attempts have been made to bring the mortal remains to India. Talks with the embassy are ongoing.

Sreekumar was an active worker of Bharatiya Vicharakendra in Kerala. He returned to Ghana on the 16th of last month after spending 20 days in Kerala. For many in the Agriculture Department, Sreekumar was fondly known as ‘Swami Sir’.

Sreekumar followed a systematic lifestyle and was ubiquitously seen in a white shirt and a traditional Kerala dhoti. An emblazoned Indian flag always found a small spot on his shirt. Sreekumar never wore sandals and embraced an unsophisticated lifestyle. He built a bio-fertilizer unit 30 years ago and developed several organic farming models that proved successful.

Wife S. Janaki. Children: S. Ashwin Kumar (UK), S. Anand Kumar. Daughter-in-law Nita Ashwin (UK)