Social activist Vandana Navalkar dies at 80

Vandana Navalkar, social activist and wife of late Shiv Sena leader Pramod Navalkar, passed away on Wednesday morning in Saifee Hospital. She was hospitalised for over two weeks.

Navalkar, who was the head of Kutumb Sakhi organisation, died at the age of 80. She was hospitalised on November

22, after attending an event organised on the occasion of her husband’s death anniversary. She was rushed to Saifee Hospital, where she breathed her last. A relative close to Vandana, Vrunda Jaykar said, “We had dinner after the event and bid adieu to each other. Little did I know her health would deteriorate soon after. Vandana tai was absolutely fit and fine.”

A source close to Navalkar family said, Vandana had slipped into coma after her blood pressure dropped on November 22, resulting in heart failure. She was kept on a ventilator for two weeks, but breathed her last in the wee hours on December 4.

Along with Kutumb Sakhi, Navalkar also joined hands with a community-based magazine, ‘Prabhu Tarun’ in 2007. In the same year, she was also elected as the Principal of Nana-Nani school for senior citizens.

Navalkar was an active participant in Marathi literary groups and was also a social activist. She worked extensively for women’s empowerment. She began working on various social causes in the early 70s, when she would accompany her husband to rehabilitate women who were rescued from the sex trade.

Navalkar was an active participant in Marathi literary groups and was also a social activist. She worked extensively for women’s empowerment