PGIMER fraternity deeply saddened by the demise of Dr. R.Kumar, an alumnus of PGIMER & a Senior Ophthalmologist of the city
PGIMER, Chandigarh is deeply saddened by the demise of Dr R Kumar on 30.5.2021 who was an alumnus of PGIMER, Chandigarh and a Senior Ophthalmologist of the city. In this moment of profound grief, Prof Jagat Ram, Director, PGI, Prof Amod Gupta, Former Dean, PGI and Prof SS Pandav, Head, Advanced Eye Centre, PGIMER, Chandigarh have expressed their deep condolences to the bereaved family.
Dr. R.Kumar was born on 26th January, 1946 and after finishing his secondary education joined MBBS in Medical College, Patiala. After completing his MBBS in 1968, he subsequently joined PGIMER, Chandigarh and completed his M.S. (Ophthalmology) in 1971.
He was a Consultant Eye Specialist by profession and associated with Society for Promotion of Ethical and Affordable Healthcare (SPEAK) for a long time and strongly advocated to promote healthcare and health tourism in India using affordable healthcare models. He was an avid writer and authored more than 100 books on myriad topics such as Public Health Management, hospitals and healthcare, women health and child survival, youth health and development, NGOs, Disaster, AIDS, Human development and many more subject matters.
In addition, he also served as a Health Columnist for leading newspapers of North India such as Tribune, daily post etc. He was the past president of the Chandigarh Ophthalmological society and worked passionately for the growth of discipline in close collaboration with PGIMER, Chandigarh and GMCH, Sector-32. Over the years, he organized several charitable eye screening and health awareness camps and performed free eye surgeries of needy patients.
He also contributed significantly to the development of Community Ophthalmology and other subjects related to public health. Due to his expertise in wide ranging public health subjects, he became one of the leading public health intellectuals of the town and will be remembered for his noteworthy contribution in the field of ophthalmology and public health.
