KAKINADA: Dr Bhupathi Nageswara Rao of Pasarlapudi, popularly known as ‘Pedala Doctor’ in Amalapuram division, died of a cardiac arrest on Monday night. He was 82. He rendered yeoman service by treating poor people of Amalapuram for almost five decades. He used to charge just Rs 10 from a patient. Even if the patient could not afford to pay the fee, it did not matter to him.
Even if he faced financial stringency, he did not increase his consultation fee to get additional income. For that matter, he did not upgrade his clinic into a hospital sensing that patients might not come to him thinking that they would have to pay more fee.
After finishing MBBS, Dr Rao joined government service. But he quit the job as he felt he could not serve the poor people in far off villages as a government doctor. He started his own clinic in a rented house. Dr Rao married Lalitha Kumari and the couple had three children. “Dr Rao used to be available to patients 24x7. He never showed reluctance to visit the patient’s house located in remote places,” said Pradeep, a resident of Pasarlapudi.
“He never hesitated to refer the case to a specialist doctor if there was no improvement in the condition of patient despite his treatment,” said Bonam Babjee, another villager. ‘Pedala Doctor’ is a household name in several villages for his ‘healing touch’. His demise came as a shock to people of several villages.