SRINAGAR: Kashmir’s oldest serving bureaucrat Sayed Ahmad Sayed Qadri passed away. He breathed his last at his Rajbagh residence and was laid to rest in their ancestral cemetery, family sources said.
Qadri was 98. He was aged, but no so unwell.
His death coincided with the 40th day of his son in law’s death, who had passed away in the US. His daughter had flown to Srinagar for the memorial service that concluded at around 4 pm. An hour later, Qadri passed away. Salahuddin Ahmed Salaria, his second son-in-law, Jammu and Kashmir’s a former Chief Conservator of Forests passed away in Philadelphia (USA) in the last week of August. His widow Shuguta Salaria had flown to Srinagar to be part of the memorial service at their Ishber residence.
Qadri was a government official at-the time of state’s partition. One relative said that he was instrumental in Contributing to the state’s Evacuees Department. People Who know him said he was a capable administrator.
One of his relatives said that Qadri was appointed as a lecturer in Amar Singh College in 1942. A few years later in 1945, he sat in the examination for an administrative service and passed it. He was soon appointed as Tehsilsar. His Brother also passed the examination and joined the police. “Post partition, he developed some tensions with Sheikh Sahabd and was on the brinks of being sacked,” the relative said. “Later, Bakhshi adopted helped him post-1953.” Qadri eventually returned as Divisional Commissioner Kashmir in 1976, he said.
Qadri had two daughters. One had married Mehmood-ur-Rehman, state’s former ACS who later became the Vice Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University. She died young. Rehman also passed away last year.
