One of the most malnourished regions in India is Maharashtra’s Melghat. It was in 1989 that Dr Ravindra Kohle, MD began nursing the poor tribals in Meghat. During that time, the Infant Mortality Rate was 200 per 1,000 infants. It has since deceased to 60, thanks in no small part to the medical awareness that was spread by Dr Kohle and his wife, Smita.

For the duo, tribal upliftment is their life’s objective.

Gandhi for a role model

With such an objective, it’s perhaps unsurprising that for Dr Kohle, Mahatma Gandhi is the role model. The doctor, who has been working in Melghat for the last three decades charges only Rs 2 for medical consultation. His wife is a permanent source of encouragement and help. She is a paediatrician and a graduate in law. In an interview that he gave to the Times of India, he said, “I am lucky to have a wife who accepted the kind of lifestyle I chose for both of us.”

The doctor’s work extends beyond the field of medicine to other areas including power generation, farms and labour wages. Aside from their medical consultation, the husband and wife duo is active in creating awareness on women’s health and education. As per Dr. Kohle he won’t accept government aid for his work since he believes in self-reliance. However, he is okay with accepting the awards that are bestowed on him. The reason? Because they make his father proud.

In an interview that he gave The New Indian Express, the doctor said that Melghat still has a high malnourishment level. “The government system is responsible for that. Under the Integrated Child Development Services, every child is entitled to get 13g of edible oil every day. The government machinery supplies only one g of edible oil to each child. The case with the supply of pulses is the same. In Melghat, the school children get khichadi of rice only. Pulses are almost non-existent in their food,” he says.

Image credits: malayalam.yourstory.com

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