Vrindavan, 2017.05.27 (VT): “Supercop” KPS Gill passed away on Friday at the age of 82. He was best known for his
Mr. Gill was a quiet servant of the needy
anti-terrorism efforts, and for supressing the Khalistan movement in Punjab. His civil service work won him the Padma Shri award, India’s 4th-highest civilian honor.
Yet Gill fought another battle that the world knows little about – a battle for heritage, sustainable development, public health, and the holy Yamuna River in Vrindavan.
Mr. Gill with philanthropist Ms. Heffner and environmental activist Paramadvaiti Swami
Since 1998, Gill began visiting Vrindavan, and later moved here permanently. He worked closely with Ms. Chandi Duke Heffner, an American philanthropist and devotee of Lord Krishna, who painstakingly restored the historic Laxmi Rani Kunj at Keshighat.
In 2009, the municipal government attempted to build a bridge down the center of the Yamuna River in Vrindavan, which would have connected two points on the parikrama marg on either side of Keshi Ghat.
Devotees of Vrindavan were outraged by the ill-conceived bridge, which would have had devastating affects on Vrindavan’s heritage, tourism and the environment. KPS Gill was at the forefront of the fight against the bridge, which eventually proved successful. Afterwards, he passionately continued the effort to end pollution of the holy Yamuna River.
CDHIFI’s Mobile Medical Clinic brings free care to remote villages (P.C. CDHIFI)
Mr. Gill also worked with Ms. Heffner as a trustee of CDHIFI, a charitable organization that brings provides food to the poor and animals on a regular basis in Vrindavan and surrounding villages. The charity also provides free medical care and medicine for the poor and animals.
Other activities include encouraging the preservation and revival of cultural traditions, the performing arts and traditional skills like wood and stone carving. These activities were actively supported by Mr. Gill.
Recently, due to poor health Mr. Gill relocated to his family residence in Delhi, but his heart remained in Vrindavan. He passed away in the hospital after suffering from heart and kidney problems.
The historic Keshi Ghat and Laxmirani Kunj (Photo Copyright Ananta Vrindavan)
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