Renowned radiologist and former Director of Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad Dr. Kakarla Subba Rao passed away while undergoing treatment at Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Secunderabad in the wee hours of Friday. He was 96.
Dr. Rao was admitted to KIMS a month ago with age-related health complications. The doctors at the hospital said he breathed his last in the early hours of Friday.
Known for his efforts to transform NIMS into a super-speciality hospital, Dr. Rao was its first director between 1985 and 1990 and later between 1997 and 2004, before retiring.
Dr. Rao was born on 25 January, 1925 in a middle-class agricultural family at Pedamuttevi, a small village in Krishna district. After completing his MBBS from Andhra Medical College in 1950, he did his Residency from the U.S. He was a Professor of Radiology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, before returning to India in 1985-86.
Responding to a call of the late Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao, he joined NIMS and strived towards its development into a highly specialised hospital. In recognition to his valuable contributions in the field of medicine, the Government of India honoured him with a Padma Shri in 2000.
Dr. Rao was the founder president of Telugu Association of North America (TANA), an umbrella organisation for Telugu speaking people in the United States.
Condolences pour in
TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu said Dr. Rao’s demise was an “irrevocable loss”, especially to the Telugu population. Recalling Dr. Rao’s exemplary services as a radiologist and as the Director of NIMS for over five decades, Mr. Naidu said Rao’s passion to serve took him to great heights.
MLA and Chairman and Managing Director of Basavatarakam Indo-American Cancer Hospital and Research Institute Nandamuri Balakrishna said Dr. Rao was an educationalist, eminent radiologist and philanthropist who touched thousands of lives with his compassion and empathy.
He fondly recalled the active role played by Dr. Rao in taking the hospital and the research institute to a respectable place in the country, both in terms of access and affordability.
“His demise has left a void and it is an irreplaceable loss to our institute,” he said.
Dr. P. Raghu Ram, Director, KIMS-Ushalakshmi Centre for Breast Diseases, Hyderabad, said he lost a close family friend.
“Dr. Rao was my role model, guide and philosopher for over 36 years from the day I joined medical school. When I was in a dilemma, over whether or not to relocate to India in 2007, he was the first person I sought an opinion from. He said people would not like it when you introduce radical changes, and that too at a young age. He advised me to withstand the pressures and stay grounded and fulfil your ambition, as there would be no place on earth sweeter than one’s motherland. From that day onwards, over the past 14 years, whenever I needed advice, he was just a phone call away, always supporting and encouraging me,” he said.
“It is really sad that he has left us. He hailed from a village in Krishna district here and went on to work for the government and extended yeoman service to the country,” said K. Pattabhi Ramaiah, general surgeon, Kamineni Clinic, Vijayawada.