Delhi, 3 January (H.S.): Padma Shri Dr. Jeevan Titiyal, head of RP Ophthalmology Centre at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, retired on 31 December after 33 years of service. On the last day of his service, he successfully operated the eyes of seven people. After this, the AIIMS staff gave him an emotional farewell in a program there. People of his home area also expressed happiness and congratulated Dr. Titiyal, a resident of the border area Dharchula, on his retirement after a successful tenure. Dr. Titiyal told that he successfully operated more than one lakh people during his entire service period. He also successfully operated many other personalities including Dalai Lama, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Seeing his achievements, the Central Government awarded him Padma Shri in 2014. He was honored with the Ran Ratna by the Ran Kalyan Sanstha here. After the farewell programme at the AIIMS office was over, when he reached his residence, his family members and friends welcomed him by putting a turban on him and garlanding him with flowers.

Following his farewell, the Padma Shri awardee said: “The operation theatre was one of the most important work areas for me, and thinking of leaving the institute made me emotional.”

Starting off as a student at AIIMS to heading the Rajendra Prasad (RP) Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, Dr Titiyal’s career at the institute has been an exemplary one: Among his many achievements, he is an expert in cataract surgery and corneal diseases and mentored over 1,000 UG and PG students.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar