Kirtida Mekani passes away at 66

Exam-focused facts from the 24 January 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

Kirtida Mekani, originally from Karnataka, died of a massive heart attack at home.
She was the founding executive director of the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) from 1993.
Mekani launched the Plant-A-Tree Programme in 2007 with Singapore’s National Parks Board (NParks) under the Garden City Fund.
She served as trustee of the United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA) Foundation supporting its Rainforest Restoration Project.
In 2016 she co-founded the Biomimicry Singapore Network.
She was on the board of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Singapore and trustee of Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI).
She served on the board of LASALLE College of the Arts and on the management committee of the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society (SIFAS).
She received the President’s Award for the Environment in 2015 and was inducted into the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame in 2024.