5 km road stretch named after Akhilesh Das Gupta

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma today dedicated a five km road stretch here to former Union minister and Congress leader Akhilesh Das Gupta who passed away in April this year.
An official statement issued by the Uttar Pradesh government said the road stretch extends from Ambedkar Marg to Husadiya Marg.

Speaking on the occasion, Sharma said, “Akhilesh Das Gupta believed in non-partisan politics, and he enjoyed friendly terms with people from different political backgrounds. He always worked for the welfare of the society.”  Gupta started providing free-ambulance service which was a major contribution from the point of view of social welfare,” he said.

He was the son of freedom fighter Babu Banarasi Das, a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Gupta (56), who passed away on April 12, was a Rajya Sabha member and was a minister for steel in the Congress government. He had also been the mayor of Lucknow.

In 2012, he had become the president of the Badminton Association of India (BAI) after the arrest of former chief VK Verma over corruption charges in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. He was unanimously re-elected for a four-year term in 2014. Last year, he was also elected the vice-president of the Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC) for a four-year term.

Under his tenure, India bagged the rights to host marquee BWF events like the 2014 Thomas/Uber Cup and the Super Series, while the Syed Modi International championship was upgraded to a grand prix gold status.
He was also instrumental in launching and organising the the cash-rich Indian Badminton League in August 2013, which was rechristened the Premier Badminton League in 2015.