GNDU honours Covid warrior Iqbal Singh Chahal and virologist Dr Gagandeep Kang

Tribune News Service

Neha Saini

Amritsar, November 25

Covid warrior Iqbal Singh Chahal, administrator and commissioner of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, and India’s best known virologist, Dr Gagandeep Kang, were awarded honorary doctoral degrees (honoris causa) at the 48th annual convocation of Guru Nanak Dev University. The two were awarded the degrees in recognition of their efforts and contribution during Covid-19 pandemic in country.

Governor Banwarilal Purohit awarded the degrees to Chahal and Kang and lauded their dedication towards society during this tough time. IS Chahal, who has been recipient of several awards and accolades for his Mumbai model of Covid management, said it was great honour for him to receive the honoris causa degree in recognition for his efforts.

“It was not just my duty constitutionally, but also towards mankind. I was posted as BMC commissioner in May 2020, when the pandemic was peaking by the day. I briefed my team that the pandemic comes only once in a century and it was an opportunity for us to serve mankind. Mumbai being second most densely populated city in the world after Tokyo, it was a great challenge to manage and implement measures to check Covid, but we took it head on,” he said.

Dr Gagandeep Kang, one of the country’s most notable virologists, also shared the lessons learnt from the pandemic management in India. “What we have shown the world is that we are capable of doing a lot. Once we have the right system, the right commitment, right enthusiasm, there is no problem we can’t solve. The foundation of science and technology that has been laid in last 75 years in our country has allowed us to do that,” she said.

He Won accolades for his Mumbai model of Covid mgmt

• Iqbal Singh Chahal is BMC Commissioner and is an alumnus of Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala. He is an IAS of 1989 batch and has been proactive in restructuring the Covid-19 management in Mumbai during pandemic
• He is also a subject of an upcoming book by author Minhaz Merchant, titled Covid Warrior. He has been recipient of several awards and accolades for his Mumbai model of Covid management. I was just doing my duty, he says

At the forefront of nation’s vaccination programmes

• Dr Gagandeep Kang, currently serving as Head of the Department of Gastrointestinal Science at Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, has been at the front of country’s vaccination programmes and healthcare research
• She is a member of the Global health advisory and research team at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and her focus of research is based on enteric diseases and diarrhoeal infections. She has been recipient of several awards and fellowships

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