D.V. Subba Rao, legal luminary, former Visakhapatnam Mayor and Andhra Cricket Association president passed away at a corporate hospital here on Saturday afternoon. He was 83 and is survived by his wife, a son and two daughters.
Subba Rao was suffering from a chronic lung problem for the last many months and was rushed to the hospital in a critical stage on Thursday.
He was put on the ventilator since then. High Court Judge and Visakhapatnam district portfolio judge G. Chandraiah and many others had visited the hospital to enquire about his health with his son Somayajulu.
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Durvasula Venkata Subba Rao had created a record when he was elected twice as Chairman of the Bar Council of India from a mofussil centre like Visakhapatnam as till then, only top advocates from major metros and other big cities were elected as head of the prestigious body.
As Mayor of the city he was instrumental in improving the beauty of the city and developed greenery which received appreciation from several quarters. A well read man, he was a great orator and would provide anecdotes which many were not aware of.
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Active cricketer
An active cricketer in his younger days, Subba Rao was elected president of Andhra Cricket Association several times, and accompanied the Sachin Tendulkar-led Indian team to the West Indies in 1997 as its administrative manager. There he floored many West Indies cricketers and leaders, including Nelson Mandela, with his oratory skill, knowledge about the game and world affairs.
It was a fact that the Andhra Cricket Association and the Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association rose in stature thanks to him. He was president of VDCA for many years. Subba Rao played a major role in Visakhapatnam hosting it first ODI at the Municipal Corporation stadium when he was the city's Mayor and later in the construction of the ultra-modern ACA-VDCA stadium in the city outskirts.