Padma Shri awardee Jagdish Lal Ahuja, popularly known as 'Langar Baba' for serving free food to patients and their attendants outside the PGIMER every day for more than two decades, passed away on Monday.
Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit and many other leaders condoled the demise of Jagdish Ahuja, who died after a prolonged illness.
For over two decades, he served free food (langar) outside the PGIMER and later outside the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32. He was feeding nearly 2,500 people daily, without a day's break for all these years.
A PGIMER spokesperson said Jagdish Ahuja will be remembered for his exceptional generous gesture of feeding lakhs of people outside the PGIMER premises and for his endearing and humane personality.
"The PGIMER salutes Langar Baba's magnanimity and 'spirit of giving'," the spokesperson said in a statement.
Appreciating the fact that 'langar' continued to be served despite his death, according to his last wishes, the governor prayed to the Almighty to grant eternal peace to the departed soul and give strength to his family, friends and well-wishers to bear this irreparable loss, an official statement said.
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and his predecessor Amarinder Singh also expressed their condolences at Jagdish Ahuja's demise.
"My deepest condolences on the demise of great social activist and noted philanthropist Padma Shri Jagdish Lal Ahuja, popularly known as #Langar Baba. His selfless gesture of providing free food and medicines to poor and needy at PGIMER will ever inspire others for such noble service," Mr Channi tweeted.
Amarinder Singh said that Ahuja paid for free food and medicines himself.
"My deepest condolences on the demise of Padma Shri Jagdish Lal Ahuja, popularly known as Langar Baba. He self-funded free food and medicines to poor and needy at PGIMER for about 20 years. His philanthropy works will remain an inspiration for generations to come," the former chief minister tweeted.
Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal also expressed condolences on his death, saying Ahuja will always be remembered for his service.
"Heartfelt condolences on the demise of Padma Shri Jagdish Lal Ahuja Ji - 'the Langar Baba', who continuously organised langars for the people outside hospitals in Chandigarh. He will always be remembered for his Seva. May Guru Sahib grant peace to the departed soul," Mr Badal tweeted.
Jagdish Ahuja's family had migrated to India from Peshawar in Pakistan at the time of the country's partition in 1947. After many years, the family settled down in Chandigarh.
Jagdish Ahuja had once said that he was guided by his "inner voice" to start the langar outside the PGIMER as he had faced poverty earlier in his life and when he thought he was capable of feeding those in need he decided to start the free service.
