MANGALURU: The first thing Sharat Kumar Thokkatu does every morning is read the newspaper to look for news about people in need of financial help to undergo medical treatment.
On finding what he is looking for, Thokkatu and his friends spring into action, mobilising all help possible in order to provide succour and strength to those who need it. “He has been doing this for 15 years now,” says Thokkatu’s friend Yashwin, an entrepreneur.
He recalls how a few years ago Thokkatu had raised a whopping Rs 45 lakh for a blood cancer patient in Kulai. “Though he was penniless, Sharat raised the amount with the help of his friends,” he says.
Thokkatu recalls, “I first read about the appeal in a Kannada newspaper and approached the parents of the patient. They needed Rs 45 lakh to treat their daughter’s cancer. When they told me that the appeals published in newspapers had drawn no response, I handed them a small amount of money and left without saying a word.”
Thokkatu and his friends then launched a campaign by setting up camps in public places, having received the required permission from the police, and appealed to the public to donate for the cause.
“The parents had thought they would never see me again. They were dumbfounded when I handed them Rs 45 lakh,” he says with a smile.
Then there was another case of a baby with atrial septal defect or a hole in the heart. This time too, the 36-year-old managed to raise Rs 1.5 lakh for the baby’s surgery. And in 2008, he risked his life to rescue people from a house that had caught fire. Bharat, a contractor, says he and his friends help Thokkatu arrange blood for needy patients. They also distribute notebooks to students in government schools free of cost.
Thokkatu has also saved the lives of about 150 people by shifting them from accident sites to the nearest hospitals for immediate medical attention.
However, there was this one time when while shifting people injured in a car accident in Kavoor, he came close to being accused as a thief by the police. The public prevented his arrest and told the police that money was not stolen but was removed for safekeeping.
The district administration feted Thokkatu with the Jeevan Rakshak award for rushing accident victims to hospitals within the golden hour, which is the first hour after an accident. He was presented with the award during the 70th Independence Day celebrations.
“The award has left me overwhelmed. I cannot take full credit for having saved hundreds of accident victims. I am just a facilitator,” he says. His three bothers and parents, Padmanabh and Sumathi, who support him in all his endeavours, admire him for his never-say-die attitude.
On whether survivors or beneficiaries stay in touch with him, Thokkatu replies in the negative and says public memory is notoriously short. “But I cannot stop myself from doing what comes naturally to me,” he says with a smile.
Jeeva Rakshak awardee’s dream
Thokkatu overcame poverty by sheer hard work. After completing his degree in commerce in an evening college, he underwent training in a self-employment camp organised by RUDSETI in Ujire. This helped him open a garage in Bajpe.
Thokkatu had been nursing dreams of building an old age home and had purchased a 73-cent plot in Mudipu on the outskirts of Mangaluru city. He later ventured into the production of Kannada music album ‘Preeti Hejje’ under the banner of his charitable trust Shri Manjunatha Charitable productions.
The objective of the album was to use the proceeds from its sale to fund his philanthropic activities. However, the completion of the album was stalled due to shortage of funds. He is now on the brink of abandoning his dreams.
Thokkatu can be contacted at 7829481999.