Coimbatore : The Managing Director of Arya Vydya Pharmacy here and Chancellor of Avanashilingam University for Woman, P R Krishnakumar passed away here on Wednesday night.

He was 69 and was undergoing treatment for Coronavirus infection in a private hospital here and the death came around 8.45 PM the pharmacy sources said Thursday.

It has to be noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had discussed through video conference with Krishnakumar on the role of Ayurveda to treat the pandemic during lockdown.

A Padmashree recipient in 2009 for his contributions to Ayurveda, Krishnakumar was born in September 23 1951 to Arya Vaidyan P. V. Rama Varier, the founder of Arya Vaidya Pharmacy, in Shoranur Kerala.

Krishna Kumar established an institute by the name AVP Research Foundation (AVPRF) to conduct clinical, literary, field and drug researches and to train aspiring ayurvedic scholars. AVPRF launched the RUDRA clinical documentation program in 2003 to promote practice based evidence in the field of Ayurveda.

He conceived and implemented a unique 7 ½ years educational program for Ayurveda totally free, affiliated to Madras University and later to Bharathiar University and also approved by the Central Council for Indian Medicine (CCCIM), which created a unique breed of Ayurveda scholars.

He is the recipient of awards like “Pathanjali Puraskar of Pathanjali Vidya Peetam, “Kulapathi Munshi Award” of Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan, and “Life time achievement award” “ Pride of the city”, etc from various organizations like Rotary, Lions, Round Table etc. and also titles from many institutions of repute.

The Government also honoured him in the year 2016 with the prestigious ‘Dhanwanthari Puraskar’ for his contributions in the field of Ayurveda Education, Health and Community Services.