Bharati Kashyap, medical director of Kashyap Memorial Eye Hospital, receive the award from CP Singh and Ram Dayal Munda in Ranchi on Sunday. Picture by Manik Bose

Ranchi, March 14: Jharkhand State Legal Services Authority (Jhalsa), set up in 2002 to ensure justice for all, and Kashyap Memorial Eye Hospital, Ranchi, the only super-speciality eye hospital in eastern, western and northern India, were today the proud recipients of Jharkhand Ratna 2010 award instituted by an NGO, Lok Seva Samiti.

Assembly Speaker C.P. Singh and Padma Shree recipient Ram Dayal Munda gave away the awards at CCL auditorium in Ranchi. “There are precious minerals hidden beneath the Earth’s crust in Jharkhand. But there are gems over the ground like Jhalsa, Kashyap Memorial Eye Hospital and a host of individuals,” the Speaker said.

Jhalsa has been providing free and competent legal aid to the weaker sections of the society and ensuring that no citizen is denied justice by reason of economic or other disabilities, the citation read. The award was received by Basant Kumar Goswami, secretary of the High Court Legal Services Committee, Ranchi and A.B. Singh, the director of Jharkhand Judicial Academy.

Kashyap Memorial Eye Hospital, the only NABH certified super-speciality eye hospital in this part of the country, also holds an ISO 9001 certification. Bharati Kashyap, the medical director of the hospital, received the award.

Lok Seva Samiti, set up in 1991, has been giving away the awards since 1998.

Apart from the two institutions, others who bagged the honour were A.A. Khan, vice-chancellor of Ranchi University, Subodh Kumar Mahato, football player representing India at international meets, Ashok Pagal for his contribution to drama, Kathak exponent Vipul Nayak and entrepreneur P.P. Lala. Nageshwar Prasad, killed in Kargil War, and Rameshwaram, a journalist and social activist associated with the bonded labour movement were conferred the Ratna posthumously.