A kind-hearted doctor in south India has taken to treating people in rural communities for less than a penny a patient.
Dr. S.C. Shankare Gowda, a physician from Karnataka seen here treating villagers in Shivalli near Mandya, is known as the '5 Rupee doctor' for his cheap but effective treatments.
Dr. Gowda is a skin specialist and treats all types of skin diseases with an almost total success rate.
Hailing from Shivanahalli Taluk, a village in the South Indian state of Karnataka, Dr. Gowda used to practice in Mandya, which is some 12 kilometres away from his village.
When he noticed that a large number of patients from his native area came there to consult with him, Dr. Gowda decided to return to the area and start practising there, and charging only 5 rupees (around £0.05).
Despite becoming a famous physician, Gowda doesn’t own a mobile phone, nor does he have a computer nor access to Internet, the doctor managing everything by himself.
One cannot book advance appointments at his clinic but rather people arrive and queue up to receive treatment.
Dr. Gowda is also an agriculturist and has keen insights into the lives of the poor labourers who live in the region.
So apart from treating many of them without the already reduced fee, Gowda prescribes them affordable medicines.
One of the patients who had come to visit the doctor said, "The doctor is very humble and doesn't do anything for publicity. He has not given an interview in the media till date because he doesn't want people to feel that he is doing this for his publicity."
Another patient added, "There are so many poor people, the doctor is a boon for us as people these days have money for food but not enough for treatment, here people may not have money for food but can afford to be treated."
Dr. S.C. Shankare Gowda, a physician from Karnataka seen here treating villagers in Shivalli near Mandya, is known as the '5 Rupee doctor' for his cheap but effective treatments.
Dr. Gowda is a skin specialist and treats all types of skin diseases with an almost total success rate.
Hailing from Shivanahalli Taluk, a village in the South Indian state of Karnataka, Dr. Gowda used to practice in Mandya, which is some 12 kilometres away from his village.
When he noticed that a large number of patients from his native area came there to consult with him, Dr. Gowda decided to return to the area and start practising there, and charging only 5 rupees (around £0.05).
Despite becoming a famous physician, Gowda doesn’t own a mobile phone, nor does he have a computer nor access to Internet, the doctor managing everything by himself.
One cannot book advance appointments at his clinic but rather people arrive and queue up to receive treatment.
Dr. Gowda is also an agriculturist and has keen insights into the lives of the poor labourers who live in the region.
So apart from treating many of them without the already reduced fee, Gowda prescribes them affordable medicines.
One of the patients who had come to visit the doctor said, "The doctor is very humble and doesn't do anything for publicity. He has not given an interview in the media till date because he doesn't want people to feel that he is doing this for his publicity."
Another patient added, "There are so many poor people, the doctor is a boon for us as people these days have money for food but not enough for treatment, here people may not have money for food but can afford to be treated."
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