Growing up in the forested lands of Bhadravati where his father was posted as a Chief Engineer, young Ramana Rao would witness the endless struggles of daily wage labourers at the Bhadra dam project.
Healthcare was a luxury for these people, as they lived far away from the nearby town where hardly a few doctors could be found. Basic ailments were common, and they often worsened into serious diseases due to lack of treatment.
Dr. Ramana Rao started his free village clinic on the very next day after passing his MBBS on August 15, 1973 in T.Begur, located 35 km from Bangalore on the Bangalore-Pune National Highway. His service has been running uninterrupted since 48 years every Sunday. It is the world's longest serving free clinic. Dr. Rao’s wife and his two sons (who are also doctors) have joined him in this noble endeavour. His son Dr Charit Bhograj is an interventional cardiologist, and Dr Abhijit Bhograj is an endocrinologist.
His clinic in the in T.Begur village near the Bengaluru-Tumakuru highway is seemingly the oldest and longest-running free clinic in the world.
“I wanted to reduce their suffering, and my parents told me the only way to do that was to become a doctor. So, I became one,” says 68-year-old Padmashri Dr B Ramana Rao, who has offered free treatment and medicines to over 2 million rural patients in the past 46 years.
Aside from basic treatment, Dr Rao’s clinic offers free blood pressure and blood sugar check-up, basic blood tests, Electrocardiography (ECG), nebulisation etc. He has the support of a dedicated team of 35 comprising nurses, compounders, lab technicians and assistants.
Early Journey
Dr Rao’s unparalleled initiative officially started on August 15, 1973, a day after he graduated with the MBBS degree. His sole aim for becoming a doctor was to serve the underprivileged. As his family owned some land in T.Begur, that is where he decided to build his clinic.
Throughout the week, Dr Rao would practise as a leading medico in top Bengaluru hospitals, and on Sunday mornings, he would head out towards T.Begur, spending a substantial portion of his income on buying medicines for the helpless villagers.
Slowly, his activities at the clinic proliferated beyond simple treatment and medicine distribution. Disturbed by the sight of people waiting for hours in the rain and sun, he built a shed that stretches for more than a kilometre from his clinic.
Later, in an effort to inculcate a healthy habit among these individuals through yoga, he boarded a few trainers who conduct classes for the waiting patients.
Finally, he ensured that every patient got to eat a nourishing plate of rice and sambar, and sometimes, even snacks.
“I came here for the first time eight years ago with my mother. I started volunteering seven years ago because I was impressed and I wanted to help,” says the volunteer Baba Jan, an auto-rickshaw driver from Gauribidanur, some 60 km away, who helps Dr Rao at the village clinic on Sundays.
Most of the patients arriving at the clinic are the elderly. They are first screened by Dr. Rao before being split according to the complaints. Later, the paramedical staff report back to Dr. Rao with findings to seek the course of treatment.
Then again, all patients who come to the clinic on a Sunday — sometimes as many as 2,000 — are provided free food by Dr. Rao making the visit from long distances less painful for some people. And, most of the dozen staff at the clinic are volunteers from villages or former patients of Dr Rao.
Social work beyond free treatment
It would be an impertinence to speak about Dr Rao without mentioning his mass-scale social endeavours beyond the boundary walls of his clinic. After almost a decade of running the clinic, he started to realise that a lot of the patients’ problems were rooted way beyond their medical woes. Their appalling living conditions played a significant part in their recurring ailments.
“There were zero toilets in these villages. Around 1991, we started our work on building toilets. The number just recently crossed 700,” says Dr Rao.
He also taken over 50 schools in the area under his supervision. While he chooses to avoid the word ‘adopted’ as he feels it might mar the spirit of service. Nevertheless, he caters to all the infrastructural and academic needs of these village schools.
Dr. Rao needs support to offer the best of healthcare services to the rural poor and give them back their dignity. The funds raised will be used to buy medicines, nebulizers, injections for the village clinic. Help Dr. Rao to continue to serve the ever growing number of rural patients who line up in the queues with the hope to get cured.
Many pockets of Karnataka are seasonally affected by water scarcity and drought. In sixteen such villages, Dr Rao has addressed the water issues by digging interlinked deep borewells.
Dr Rao is also an avid supporter of environmental awareness. He believes his work would speak and inspire more significantly than if he preaches the same messages.
“I keep on planting trees wherever I am,” he shares heartily, revealing that he has planted more than 35,000 trees till date.
Support, and moral solidarity
Dr Rao’s family members are an integral part of his noble endeavour. His sons, Dr Charit Bhograj and Dr Abhijeet Bhograj, a cardiologist and an endocrinologist respectively, assist Dr Rao in the Sunday clinic, along with his two daughters-in-law—a dermatologist and a nutritionist. “Sometimes, even my grand-kids come to the clinic to hand over free medicines to the patients or serve them lunches,” shares the doctor.
Dr Rao’s wife, Hema, has been his unfailing companion through all the ups and downs.
“Without her, none of this would have been possible. While I would be busy with diagnosing diseases and prescribing medicines, she would supervise everything else.”
From sterilising his medical equipment to ensuring free meals for all patients—Hema has been at the helm of Dr Rao’s success. Speaking to The Better India, she reiterates his principles of social service and dedication.
“Initially, only 40-50 people used to come to the clinic. Soon, his popularity spread across villages through word of mouth and people started pouring.”
As it is understood by most of us, the cost of medical services has escalated - primarily the cost of medicines. However, this has not been a deterrent for Dr. Rao. In fact, he has added more healthcare services, by attending to patients for oral health, skin and eye care. Already, medicines, injections and nebulisation were given free of cost to patients. Besides, free cataract surgery is also done at the clinic.
Dr. Rao believes that every one has the right to live with dignity. However, when the elderly in a village do not have access to medical services then a simple infections can lead to serious illnesses. The elederly are kept in a coner of the house and feel like a burden for the society. The village clinic gives back their dignity, treating them free of cost and they can go back to their routine once they are cured.
“Nobody can ever match the service he has done. He has treated generations of the same family. Each one of his patients reveres him from the bottom of their heart,” asserts Tripurendra, Dr Rao’s manager for the past 25 years.
Whether it be 1 or 1000, Dr Rao attends to the last of his patients with utmost patience and empathy. An epitome of humility, his warm smile and kind words alleviate half the problems of the patients, and the rest are resolved through his careful concoction of the most accurate medications.
Story Talk: Care Hitters