Bhubaneswar: Even as Covid-19 has confined most senior citizens indoors and even scared doctors, who are treating patients wearing PPE kits and taking all kinds of precautions to avoid infection, an 87-year-old doctor from Mul in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra has been going out of his way to attend to his patients in remote villages by riding on a bicycle.
The octogenarian Homeopathy and Ayurvedic doctor Ramchandra Dandekar has been travelling on his cycle for at least 30-35 kilometres every day to the nearby villages for the last 50 years, providing free treatment to the poor patients at their doorstep.
Even the current health crisis on account of the Covid-19 outbreak has not deterred the aging doctor from stepping out of the safety of his home.
“My routine remains the same as before. I will continue to provide selfless service to the poor in villages,” said Dandekar.
A patient of Dandekar says that the octogenarian has no fixed timetable for his rounds of the villages and he diligently carries his medical kit and medicines with him whenever someone calls him for help.
“He visits around 20 homes in each village. He is always on his toes and ready to ride his cycle to the patient’s home whenever he gets a phone call,” the patient added.
Although advanced age has reduced his visits, the doctor nevertheless, continues to serve his patients defying the pandemic fears.
“He guides and advises people to get admitted to nearby hospitals if they had fever or other symptoms of the virus infection. We are proud of his selfless service. He has certainly set an example for other doctors,” said a villager.