Shop-owner lends a helping hand to patients | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: Bharat Chandra Sahoo is neither an activist nor a member of any charitable organisation, but has a small shop inside Capital Hospital’s utility complex here. But this 76-year-old never thinks twice before extending a helping hand to others.
The shop was started by my uncle in 1955, a year after Capital Hospital started functioning. “Later, I took over the shop in my adolescent days. I cannot control my emotions if somebody cries in front of me and asks for help. As I am not a rich person and my shop is not that big, I cannot promise big things for any needy person. But I try to give whatever I can contribute,” said Sahoo.
This physically-challenged elderly man, who is known as Bharat mausa (uncle) among people, has been a support system for those who do not have anybody in the city. If a poor patient does not have money to return home, he arranges for bus or train fare. Before the govt’s free medicine scheme started, he used to help extremely poor people to get medicine. He connected with people to get blood for patients.
“My shop sells milk, food items, and necessary goods required for attendants at the hospital. If a poor person, who does not have money, needs food or any food products, I provide these items to him/her. As I know some people in the hospital and outside, I request them to help the needy patients and their attendants. I have arranged blood for many patients,” said Sahoo, who hails from Bajapur in Khurda district.
Many organisations have felicitated Sahoo for his selfless help to people. Despite several personal problems at home, Sahoo never stopped his work. “In most cases, people from rural areas want advice and help regarding the arrangement of blood. They get lost in a big city like Bhubaneswar,” he added.
Sahoo has three sons and a daughter. Mahendra, 46, his second son, is now helping his father in the shop. “My father got injured while helping a patient in the hospital in 2012. My elder brother is physically challenged. I went through heart surgery. My father struggled a lot from a personal and financial point of view, but he never stopped helping people. My mother has always supported him in this work,” said Mahendra.
The shop was started by my uncle in 1955, a year after Capital Hospital started functioning. “Later, I took over the shop in my adolescent days. I cannot control my emotions if somebody cries in front of me and asks for help. As I am not a rich person and my shop is not that big, I cannot promise big things for any needy person. But I try to give whatever I can contribute,” said Sahoo.
This physically-challenged elderly man, who is known as Bharat mausa (uncle) among people, has been a support system for those who do not have anybody in the city. If a poor patient does not have money to return home, he arranges for bus or train fare. Before the govt’s free medicine scheme started, he used to help extremely poor people to get medicine. He connected with people to get blood for patients.
“My shop sells milk, food items, and necessary goods required for attendants at the hospital. If a poor person, who does not have money, needs food or any food products, I provide these items to him/her. As I know some people in the hospital and outside, I request them to help the needy patients and their attendants. I have arranged blood for many patients,” said Sahoo, who hails from Bajapur in Khurda district.
Many organisations have felicitated Sahoo for his selfless help to people. Despite several personal problems at home, Sahoo never stopped his work. “In most cases, people from rural areas want advice and help regarding the arrangement of blood. They get lost in a big city like Bhubaneswar,” he added.
Sahoo has three sons and a daughter. Mahendra, 46, his second son, is now helping his father in the shop. “My father got injured while helping a patient in the hospital in 2012. My elder brother is physically challenged. I went through heart surgery. My father struggled a lot from a personal and financial point of view, but he never stopped helping people. My mother has always supported him in this work,” said Mahendra.
