COVID-19: Tamil Nadu Agriculture Minister R Doraikkannu Dies at 72

Doraikkannu was admitted to the hospital on 13 October, after he tested positive for coronavirus.

Tamil Nadu Agriculture Minister R Doraikkannun.

(Photo: Facebook)

Tamil Nadu Agriculture Minister R Doraikkannun died at Chennai’s Kauvery Hospital on Saturday, 31 October, the hospital’s medical bulletin said. Doraikkannu was admitted to the hospital on 13 October, after he tested positive for COVID-19.

A three-time MLA from Papanasam in Thanjavur district, he also served as a Cabinet minister in 2016, under former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s term.

The hospital had earlier said that the Minister was being treated for severe COVID pneumonia and its complications. A CT scan had showed 90 per cent lung involvement and he was put on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) and ventilator, a report by News18 stated.

According to a report by Scroll, Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit, who had tested positive for coronavirus in August, paid tributes to the minister. “He was known for his simplicity, humbleness, straightforwardness, governance skills and commitment towards the welfare of the farming community,” the report quoted him as saying.