Cultural activist and intellectual Vitthal Bhandari, 52, succumbed to COVID-19 in Shivamogga on Friday. Associated with Left and progressive organisations, he was an active member of several groups in Uttara Kannada district and across the State.
He was associated with theatre and cultural group Samudaya Karnataka.
The soon of popular Bandaya writer R.V. Bhandari, Vitthal Bhandari was a Kannada teacher at a college in Siddapura in Uttara Kannada and was convener of several cultural and literary fora in the coastal belt, including “Sahayana Samskrutika Vedike” and “Chintana Uttara Kannada”.
“He was a good organiser. More than anything else, he was a good teacher with a large student following. He was also a theatre enthusiast, associated with Samudaya,” said H.S. Anupama, another writer from the district.