HYDERABAD: Shanti Swaroop, the first Telugu newsreader, passed away while undergoing treatment at a private hospital here on Friday. He suffered a heart attack two days ago and was admitted to the hospital.
Shanti Swaroop was well-known as the first anchor to deliver news in the vernacular language. He created a record by reading Telugu news for the first time on Doordarshan on 14 November, 1983 and continued anchoring till his retirement in 2011.
The 7 pm news that he presented was something that everyone remembered as Shanti Swaroop had a distinct style of reading without giving in to any emotion and his pronunciation was impeccable. He married Roja Rani, also an anchor on Doordarshan in 1980.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and BRS chief and former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao condoled the death of Shanti Swaroop.
As the first generation news reader, he became a familiar face for the Telugu people, said Revanth Reddy and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family. KCR said that Shanthi Swaroop left a mark on Telugu people.