Activist and former IIT professor GD Agrawal, who passed away during his 'fast unto death' for clean Ganga river, was a PhD scholar in Environmental Engineering from California University. The 86-year-old activist was part of many protests and sat on several fasts to conserve the river. In 2011, he became a 'sanyasi' and adopted the name Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand.