Missing ICAR ex-chief found dead in Cauvery
Former director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Padma Shri awardee Subbanna Ayyappan has been found dead in the Cauvery river in Srirangapatna
Former director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Padma Shri awardee Subbanna Ayyappan has been found dead in the Cauvery river in Srirangapatna, police said on Sunday.
“Ayyappan was reported missing on May 7 by his family at the Vidyaranyapuram police station in Mysuru. The 70-year-old scientist reportedly left home on his scooter without carrying his mobile phone but did not return. During investigation, his scooter was located parked nearby at the Sai Ashram,” B Prakash, inspector at the Srirangapatna police station, said.
“The exact reason of death is yet to be determined. Initial investigation suggests he may have entered the water three days earlier, possibly near the Sai Baba Ashram where he was known to meditate,” he said. According to his family, he frequently visited the Cauvery riverbanks and Ramakrishna Ashram in Mysuru for meditation.
He further said that an unidentified body was found floating in the Cauvery river on Saturday by locals who reported the matter to police. “The body was identified to be of Subbanna Ayyappan and shifted to KR hospital Mysuru. The body has been handed over to family members after conducting the post-mortem examination. We registered a case of unnatural death and launched investigation,” he added.
Ayyappan is survived by his wife and two daughters. Born on December 10, 1955, in Yelandur, Chamarajanagar district, he began his career after completing his BFSc in 1975 and MFSc in 1977 from Mangalore. He later earned a PhD in 1998 from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru. is credited for playing a role in India’s “Blue Revolution,” pioneering methods that modernised aquaculture and fisheries. His work uplifted rural livelihoods, improved food systems, and boosted productivity in coastal and inland regions. For these achievements, he was conferred the Padma Shri in 2022.
His contributions to the fields of aquaculture and sustainable agriculture spanned decades. He served as director of the Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA) in Bhubaneswar and the Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE) in Mumbai. He was also the founding chief executive of the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) in Hyderabad and served as Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Government of India. In his later years, he was chairman of the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) and Vice-Chancellor of the Central Agricultural University (CAU), Imphal.
