ORS icon Dr Dilip Mahalanabis dies in Kolkata

Renowned physician Dr Dilip Mahalanabis, credited with pioneering the oral rehydration therapy, died at a private hospital here on Sunday, sources said. Mahalanabis, 87, was suffering from lung infection and other old-age ailments, they said.

He had hit the headlines during the Liberation War in Bangladesh in 1971, when the doctor saved thousands of lives with the oral rehydration solution during an outbreak of cholera, while serving in a refugee camp at Bangaon in West Bengal. Oral rehydration therapy is a solution used to prevent and treat dehydration.

Expressing grief at his passing away, Director of Institute of Child Health, Dr Apurba Ghosh said Mahalanabis was a pioneer in the treatment of cholera and enteric diseases through low-cost methods. "His contributions will forever be remembered," Ghosh said.