Mumbai vada pavwala and ward boy build hospital………Shailesh Bhatia
Natives of Bhambed Lanj, both work in Mumbai and have paid their village back by setting up its first hospital
Natives of Bhambed Lanj, both work in Mumbai and have paid their village back by setting up its first hospital
Mumbaikars can take a leaf out of the lives of Madhav Shivgan, a vada pav vendor and his friend Anant Kadam, a ward boy. Instead of complaining about infrastructural problems that plague rural India, the two who shifted to Mumbai, decided to mobilise a change back in their village.
It started as a dream project 23 years ago to improve the medical standards in Bhambed Lanja, an obscure township in the heart of Maharashtra’s Konkan belt. The two, Shivgan and Kadam had meagre resources and could barely manage to earn a livelihood. Today, the town has Jankalyan Rugnalya, its first 15-bed hospital with twin operating rooms, three full-time general practitioners and a gynaecologist. The hospital plans to increase the count to 50 beds. The medical facility was formally inaugurated on Saturday (March 6) with the support of locals who owe their livelihood to Mumbai and an NGO called Golwalkar Trust.
Dr Prakash Ambardekar, consulting anaesthetist with leading Mumbai hospitals, who is also one of the chief coordinators of the project, said Kadam was hired by a private clinic 23 years ago as an unskilled labour. He rose steadily to become the main operating room assistant. In fact, Kadam was also one of the assistants when former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee was operated on in Mumbai. “Anant was specifically requisitioned by Dr CS Ranawat when Vajpayee was operated at Breach Candy Hospital. He is currently one of the best trained assistants for joint replacement and other orthopaedic operations. Shivgan on the other hand, with his limited education has managed to enrol his daughter in a medical course,” said Ambardekar.
Ranawat added that free treatment would be given to low-income group patients, while those who can afford to pay, would be charged nominally at Jankalyan Rugnalya.
“With no ambulance service in the region, a pregnant lady had to travel over 40 kilometres in a rickshaw or a state transport bus to Ratnagiri for delivery. The duo convinced a few Ophthalmology and Orthopaedic specialists from Mumbai to hold a series of medical camps in Bhambed, which were attended by thousands of patients from nearby villages. This magnified the need for a permanent medical facility in the region,” informed Dr Nandu Laud, ex chief of Sion Hospital, currently Chairman Shushrusha Co-operative Hospital.
He said it was heart-warming to know that two boys with meager means had the courage to initiate a medical facility. “Such projects have to be replicated in every village, as they not only improve the health standards but also increase job opportunities for locals.”
Speaking to Sunday MiD DAY from Bhambed Lanja, Shivgan, who lives in Chembur said theirs was a humble endeavour to make a better society. “I may live in Mumbai but I’ve seen the hardship neighbours in my village go through. Our idea appealed to many people, who eventually came together to help this project materialise.”
* In 2006
There were 1,998 Rural Community Hospitals in USA according to a survey conducted by the American Hospital Association
There were 1,998 Rural Community Hospitals in USA according to a survey conducted by the American Hospital Association