Bhubaneswar: The last rites of noted neurosurgeon and founding director of AIIMS Bhubaneswar, Dr Ashok Kumar Mahapatra, will be performed at Swarga Dwar in Puri on Wednesday, family sources said. His mortal remains reached Bhubaneswar on Tuesday night.A pall of gloom descended on his native place, Biranarasinghapur, in Puri district as residents remembered his contributions over the years. They said he had helped villagers in many ways from the time he became a doctor until he fell ill in the last week of Sept. He is survived by his wife, Suprabha Panigrahi, and daughter, Subhashree Mahapatra, a research scientist in microbiology in Germany.“He always guided us to do good work. He helped many students pursue quality education. He also personally helped many people receive the best treatment at AIIMS New Delhi, AIIMS Bhubaneswar and other reputed hospitals. We cannot forget him,” said Ghanashyam Swain, a retired philosophy faculty member and local resident.Dr Mahapatra was the working president of the social service organisation Bhakta Dasia Memorial Trust. Members of the trust and residents of nearby villages will pay tributes to him on the way to Puri.He was widely known for leading the surgery to separate craniopagus twins Jaga and Balia at AIIMS New Delhi in 2017.Pushpanjali Kanhar, mother of the conjoined twins from Kandhamal district, said her family would remain indebted to Dr Mahapatra for conducting the rare and marathon surgery.“He named my sons Jaga and Balia. After their separation, he took all steps for their survival. He was an angel for us,” she said. Balia died on Nov 25, 2020.Dr Mahapatra was the founding director of AIIMS Bhubaneswar. Staff, doctors and officials of the institution paid tributes to him and organised a condolence meeting on the campus on Tuesday. SOA deemed to be university, where he had served as vice-chancellor, also paid tributes.CM Mohan Charan Majhi, leader of opposition Naveen Patnaik, former Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, chief secretary Anu Garg and several other dignitaries condoled his death.Dr Mahapatra was suffering from Glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer and was shifted to AIIMS New Delhi on Oct 2. He died on Monday while undergoing treatment there. Dr Mahapatra had headed the neurosurgery department at AIIMS New Delhi. He also served as director of Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, from 2006 to 2009 and as director of AIIMS Bhubaneswar from 2012 to 2016 before returning to his alma mater, AIIMS New Delhi.