Gupta served as secretary, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, for 20 years before transforming it into its present form.

Among many facilities incorporated into the hospital from time to time during Gupta’s tenure, the HDHI was one his greatest achievements.

It is today the largest cardiac centre in the northern region equipped with 55 beds in its ICU and 130 beds in general. On the whole, the institute is today regarded as one of the finest hospitals in the state with the largest ICU capacity of over 100 beds in the state.

During his tenure as secretary of the institute, Gupta was not only instrumental in the addition of various innovative facilities but also a guiding force behind the key development projects undertaken in the hospital in the last two decades.

“In order to bring the facilities at par with the national and international standards, he was so devoted to the improvement of infrastructure and services that he would send teams of management and doctors to study the high-end requirements in the best hospitals across the country,” said Dr Gurpreet Singh Wander, HDHI coordinator.

Remembering his contributions to the hospital, Dr Wander said it was during Gupta’s tenure that the hospital turned a super-specialty hospital.

He is also credited with introducing various specialties including gastroenterology, nephrology and neurology among others to the hospital.

There has been many a sobriquet attached with him like ‘one man institution’, ‘karam yogi’, philosopher, visionary and more simply, Bauji.

His last rites will be performed at the cremated