New Delhi: Dr Ravi Kannan, a surgical oncologist, was conferred upon the Padma Shri this Republic Day for treating 7000 of his patients, with taking a single penny from them. The doctor, hailing from Chennai, quit his practice there and moved to Assam with his family in 2007 to provide basic healthcare facilities for the people of Barak Valley with his Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Silchar.

 Dr Kannan is one of the 118 recipients of the country’s highest civilian honour this year. In a video paying tribute to winners, union minister Piyush Goyal hailed the winners as ‘unsung heroes’.  Fondly known as Silchar’s savior, Dr Kannan is known for transformed healthcare in the Barak family in the past 13 years, where the people had to earlier travel 300km to visit a hospital.