Lucknow’s medical institute gets new chief

LUCKNOW - R.K. Sharma was Sunday appointed director of the Sanjay Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) here, replacing controversial incumbent A.K. Mahapatra.

Sharma has been the head of the nephrology department at the SGPGI for over a decade and had also been in-charge of hospital administration for several years. He will assume office Sep 29.

Uttar Pradesh Governor B.C. Joshi cleared the appointment.

The 25-year-old institution, which was rated as Uttar Pradesh’s top medical research centre and had done pioneering work in various disciplines, had come into disrepute on account of reports of internal politics, largely attributable to the present director.

While a few faculty members had already put in their papers, some had threatened to follow course, if Mahapatra was allowed to continue.

Last month, a delegation of the faculty met state Chief Secretary Atul Kumar Gupta, seeking his intervention “to save the institute from doom”.

The chief secretary, ex officio president of the institute, was urged to look into the alleged corruption and irregularities.

Mahapatra, an ex-professor at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), took over as SGPGI director about three years ago.

Welcoming the change of guards, Faculty Forum chief P.K. Singh said, “We are grateful to the governor for bringing about the desired change, which will surely help restore the lost glory of the institute, which has its place among north India’s top three tertiary medical care and research centres.”