Pune’s district information officer Rajendra Sarag passes away due to Covid

PUNE District information officer of Pune Rajendra Sarag succumbed to Covid infection on Saturday, his colleagues in the administration said

PUNE District information officer of Pune Rajendra Sarag succumbed to Covid infection on Saturday, his colleagues in the administration said.

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Sarag, 54, was admitted at Sassoon general hospital and was on oxygen support for the past three days, a doctor treating him said.

He is survived by his wife and two sons. While Sarag was detected with diabetes, his wife too has tested positive for Covid and currently hospitalised for the treatment, said family members.

He was posted as a district information officer at Pune twice with his current tenure lasting for three years.

Deputy chief minister and Pune guardian minister Ajit Pawar expressed grief over the demise. “Despite the efforts by the doctors in Sassoon hospital, we had to lose a good officer like him. This is really unfortunate. May his soul rest in peace,” Pawar said in his condolence message.

He pursued his journalism degrees from Aurangabad and had worked in Tarun Bharat, a Marathi daily as a cartoonist before joining the public information services. Though being in the government service, he pursued his love for cartoons and received many awards for his published cartoons, especially in Diwali magazines.

“My father was a good man and never hurt anyone,” said Vaibhav Sarag. His elder son, who has recently gone to pursue a masters’ degree from the United States has left from there to reach Pune after receiving this news.

Many other staff members from the district and divisional commissioner information offices which have a team of approximately 25-30 people have tested positive for Covid so far. The staff includes drivers, photographers and clerks.