Vijay Vaidya, veteran journalist, dies at 82

Mumbai: Veteran journalist Vijay Vaidya passed away at his residence in Mumbai on Saturday morning due to old age, his family members said. He was 82.

Vaidya is survived by his wife, two sons and other family members.

Vaidya's career as a journalist spanned over 60 years. He worked in several Marathi dailies, including 'Sakal' and 'Navakal' in Mumbai. Later, he worked as a columnist in several newspapers, authored books on different subjects and was involved in social work like finding missing children and helping divorcees to settle again.

He was also associated with 'sarvajanik' (public) Ganesh mandals in Borivali, where he lived.

Senior journalist Yogesh Trivedi said, "Vaidya had expressed a wish that after his death, his mortal remains should be wrapped with newspapers of the day and taken for cremation with joy and not sadness." Vaidya had earlier served as the vice-president of Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh, president of Thane District Patrakar Sangh and Mantralaya Vidhimandal Patrakar Sangh for three consecutive years. He was the president of North Mumbai Patrakar Sangh at present.

He was honoured with several awards in recognition of his work in social and journalistic fields.