Renowned Psychiatrist Dr Anand Pandurangi dies of cardiac arrest at 74
Dharwad: Dr Anand Pandurangi, a renowned psychiatrist and Karnataka Rajyotsava awardee known for pioneering community-based mental healthcare in North Karnataka, died of cardiac arrest at a private hospital in Dharwad early Thursday. He was 74.
Dr Pandurangi was remembered for making psychiatric care accessible beyond hospitals and clinics, particularly to people in smaller towns and villages who had limited access to specialist services. His work helped establish community-based mental healthcare as a key part of his professional career.
After completing his medical education at Karnataka Medical College, he pursued postgraduate studies through Karnatak University and trained in psychiatry at the then Karnataka Institute of Mental Health. He later gained clinical experience under noted psychiatrist Dr B M Debsikdar in Miraj before returning to Dharwad.
Over the course of his career, he worked extensively with students, parents and teachers. He conducted counselling programmes in schools and colleges, advised parents on children’s emotional and psychological wellbeing and trained teachers to recognise emerging mental health concerns among adolescents.
He also organised mental health camps in towns and rural areas, taking psychiatric consultations closer to communities that often found specialist care difficult to access. His efforts earned recognition through several honours, including the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award, the Eminent Psychiatrist Award in 2010, the Distinguished Psychiatrist Award in 2011, the Dr Katiil Appu Pai National Memorial Award in 2017 and an honorary doctorate from Karnatak University in 2018, reports Deccan Herald.
The psychiatrist is survived by his wife, a psychologist, and their son, who is also a psychiatrist.
News of his death drew members of the medical fraternity, public representatives, writers, social workers and former patients to his residence in Dharwad. Several prominent figures also visited the family to offer their condolences.
His last rites were performed at the Hosayallapur crematorium on Thursday evening with full state honours.
