who charges only Rs 2.00
'If you want to serve mankind, go and work among the
poorest and most neglected.'.
tribals of Melghat, Maharashtra , for 24 years.
Dr. Ravindra Koelhe, MD, lives and runs a clinic in
Melghat, Maharashtra . His fee is Rs 2 for the
first consultation and Rs 1 for the second. Not only is he a doctor and social
worker, Dr Koelhe has also taken the government to court for having failed in
its duty to protect the Korku tribals of the region.
After completing his MBBS, he worked in Melghat for a
year-and-a-half only to realise that he needed more expertise to handle the
problems of the tribals. So he went back to medical college for an MD in preventive
and social medicine.
"I
have now been here for 24 years. In those days there were two public health
centres and no roads. Once a week, I used to walk 40 km from Dharni to
Bairagarh to reach my clinic. I used to see at least one tiger every month.
Since the last three years I haven't seen a single one," he says
remembering his early days as a young doctor.
After completing his MBBS from Nagpur University , he decided to work in rural India . An
ardent follower of Mahatma Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave, he was also influenced by
Ruskin Bond who wrote, 'If you want to serve mankind, go and work among the
poorest and most neglected.'
He toured the rural areas of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and
decided that Gadricholi in Maharashtra was the
most backward amongst his travels and decided to work there. His mother
discouraged him since it was a Naxalism affected area. She told him that
Melghat was equally backward and that he should work here instead.Dr Koelhe has been in Melghat since then. It has been 24 years now