Narendra Prasad Misra

Narendra Prasad Misra (1931 – 5 September 2021) was an Indian physician. Originally from Gwalior, he lived in Bhopal in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Misra helped save thousands of lives during the Bhopal gas tragedy through his service.

Misra is originally from Gwalior. He secured his MBBS degree from Gandhi Medical College.

After completing his studies, he joined the college as an assistant professor in 1969. He rose to become head of the college's Medicine Department. According to media reports, "in the 1980s, his popularity had increased so much that there was not even a place to set foot on in one of his programs in Gwalior". He retired from service as the Dean of the college.

Bhopal disaster

The disaster was caused by a gas leak accident on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal. It is considered among the world's worst industrial disasters.

Misra made a system that could handle more than ten thousand victims in Hamidia Hospital. Hamidia Hospital is a multispeciality tertiary care teaching hospital affiliated to Gandhi Medical College. His prompt intervention helped save thousands of lives.He stated,

"The first problem was that of numbers. My team treated 170,000 patients in one day. The second problem was lack of information. UCC informed us that the gas was not toxic. They insisted that most of the casualties were result of panic created by people running and inhaling gas. I tried to organize bulk supplies of medicines. I rang up colleagues and civil surgeon friends in neighboring towns like Sehore, Raisen, Hosangabad, and Vidisha and asked them to send supply of medicines and necessary staff like nurses and ward boys. I called up local chemists and asked them to pool in their stocks . . ."

Misra conducted clinical studies related to the tragedy and published many research papers. After retirement he continued to provide medical help and advice to the survivors.

• In 2022 the Government of India posthumously conferred the Padma Shri award upon him, the third-highest award in the Padma series of awards. The award named him "Bhopal's Senior MostDoctor known for developing treatment protocols for victims of Bhopal Gas Tragedy as well as Covid."

• "Dr B C Rai Award" by Medical Council of India (1992)
• "Gifted Teacher Award" by the Association of Physicians of India (1995)

Mishra authored a book on cardiology which is popular among cardiology students. The book titled Progress in Cardiology was released by the then President of India Shankar Dayal Sharma and the Crown Prince of Britain.

• N P Misra; et al. (1987). "Early Observations on lung function studies in symptomatic "gas" exposed population of Bhopal" (PDF). Indian Journal of Medical Research. 86 (Supplement): 1–10. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
• N P Misra; et al. (1987). "Clinical profile of gas leak victims in acute phase after Bhopal episode" (PDF). Indian Journal of Medical Research. 86 (Supplement): 11–19. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
• N P Misra; et al. (1986). "Bhopal tragedy - A year later". Journal of the Associations of the Physicians of India. 34 (4): 307. PMID 3759842.
• N P Misra; et al. (1988). "A clinical study of toxic gas poisoning in Bhopal, India". Indian Journal of Experimental Biology. 26 (3): 201–204. PMID 3397126.
• N P Misra; et al. (1989). "Bronchoalveolar lavage study in victims of toxic gas leak at Bhopal" (PDF). Indian Journal of Medical Research. 90: 407–414. PMID 2628309. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
• N P Misra; et al. (1995). "Chronic lung inflammation in victims of toxic gas leak at Bhopal" (PDF). Respiratory Medicine. 89 (2): 105–11. doi:10.1016/0954-6111(95)90192-2. PMID 7708994. Retrieved 16 March 2022.