Former senior politician and storyteller Yagya Prasad Acharya died yesterday at the age of 87. He had been undergoing intensive treatment at Norvik International Hospital in Kathmandu due to heart, kidney and lung ailments. His family said that his last rites were performed at Pashupati Aryaghat on Tuesday.

Born in 1990 B.S. in Dhankuta, he began his political career as a Nepal Communist Party leader. During the movement against the Rana Oligarchy, he was a ‘satyagrahi’ commander for the Dhankuta district. He also served as an elected mayor of Dharan Municipality for 3 years since 2016 B.S. A community power house was established in Nepal for the first time under his leadership and electricity was distributed in Dharan.

During the rule of King Birendra, the late Acharya served in various political positions including Gaunfarka. He was also a member of the dissolved Raj Parishad (Privy Council of the King) standing committee. After the restoration of the multiparty system in 2046 B.S. he kept away from politics and preferred to support the nationalist movement independently.

Acharya is said to be the first person from Dharan to pass the SLC equivalent and post-graduate examinations. He has also contributed to Nepali language, journalism, teaching, social service and literary activities. He has written three collections of short stories, a book on Nepal’s foreign policy, and an autobiography titled ‘Je Dekhein, Je Bhogein (What I Saw, What I Experienced)’.