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Chandigarh PGIMER doctor, ‘langar baba’ on Padma Shri list
Two people from the city — Dr Digambar Behera and Jagdish Lal Ahuja — have been awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in the country.
Two people from the city — Dr Digambar Behera and Jagdish Lal Ahuja — have been awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in the country.
While Dr Behera, dean (research), PGIMER, has been chosen for the award in the field of medicine, Ahuja was shortlisted in the field of social work.
The awards will be conferred on them by the President of India at ceremonial functions held at Rashtrapati Bhawan around March or April.
The recommendations for Padma Awards are received from the state governments and union territory administrations, which are considered by an awards committee. On the basis of the recommendations of this committee, and after approval of the home minister, the Prime Minister and the President, the Padma Awards are announced on the eve of the Republic Day.
LUNG CANCER CHEMOTHERAPY PIONEER
Born in 1953, Dr Digambar Behera is a native of Odisha. He joined PGIMER as a junior resident in the department of medicine in 1978. He was elevated to the post of professor in 2000 and as head of department of pulmonary medicine in May 2014.
He gave up this role when he took over as dean (research), PGIMER, in August 2017. His term ended on March 31, 2018, but he got extension of two years from the Union ministry of health and family welfare.
Founder president of the Indian Study for the Study of Lung Cancer, he has published over 462 papers and received many awards. He is also a member of several international and national professional bodies.
HE FEEDS THE UNDERPRIVILEGED
Jagdish Lal Ahuja, 85, popularly known as “langar baba” in Chandigarh, has spent 19 years serving free food to poor patients and attendants outside Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER).
Having started organising langar (community meals) across the city in 1981, Ahuja eventually moved to outside PGIMER, Sector 12, and GMCH, Sector 32, in 2001.
At 6pm, a black van stops outside PGIMER’s gate number 2 and a stall is set. In no time, people form long queues for the meals served by Ahuja. A similar langar is organised outside GMCH in the afternoon.
“There was not even a single day when langar was not organised outside PGIMER in the last 19 years. We daily serve dal, chapatti, rice, halwa and banana to people. Apart from this, biscuits are served to cancer patients, and kurkure, toffees, lollipops and balloons to children,” Ahuja had told HT an interview.
He sold off his properties worth crores to ensure patients didn’t sleep on an empty stomach. He also provides patients other support, from financial assistance to blankets and clothes.
