The journey was long but comfortable. Mumbai-Nagpur Duronto Express is usually before time at Nagpur. That day was no exception and at 0705 hours, I was outside Nagpur Railway Station. Civic authorities should ensure that the bus stand and railway station are located nearby, rather adjacent. But Nagpur is not fortunate so I walked for 15 minutes to reach the bus stand. Like all State Transport bus stands, Nagpur bus stand is decent with ample shops to cater to travel needs. Now the task was to look out for the bus to Bhamragarh. I was travelling to 'Lok Biradari Prakalp', an initiative of Padmashree Dr. Prakash Amte.
I had searched online that there is only one bus for Bhamragarh from Nagpur and that is scheduled at 1140 hours. Bhamragarh is around 325 kms from Nagpur and Hemalkasa village (Lok Biradari Prakalp) is just three kilometres ahead of Bhamragarh. However, there are some routes and buses which the MSRTC website doesn't show so I enquired about other routes and was informed about this single bus service. Now the alternate route was to take a bus till Allapalli (a village in Aheri Tehsil of Gadchiroli District) and the further distance of 60 kilometres to Hemalkasa to be travelled by a different bus or local jeep. A bus to Aheri was at the stand and the departure time was 0800 hours.
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| BILT Paper Products Ltd. - Balharshah |
The bus departed on time. The distance till Allapalli is of 275 kms and travel time is around five and a half hours. The ordinary buses of State Transport are painted in red and offer basic cushioned seats. It was May and the summer was at its full swing. First halt was at Jam (a village near Nagpur) followed by Warora which hosts Anandvan (the place where Baba Amte had setup his leprosy mission). The bus moved swiftly on National Highway and reached Chandrapur by 1130 hours. Chandrapur is a district and is known as Black Gold city for its richness in coal mines. The city is just like any other small town in India and the district hosts rich forests. The district is a part of the Red Corridor. Chandrapur is near Ballarpur/Balharshah. Ballarpur is famous for paper mill and coal mines. Western Coalfields Ltd. (subsidiary of Coal India) and Ballarpur Industries Ltd. have their mines and flagship unit respectively. The bus had left the NH and was moving on Chandrapur-Ashti Road which is narrow and has forests on both sides. Gondpipari is a small town on the way. Wainganga river borders the districts of Chandrapur and Gadchiroli. Ashti is a small town in Gadchiroli district which hosts some paper mills. These towns clearly reflect the benefits of industrialization. The next stop was Allapalli.
Allapalli is strategically located. It is the central point of access to all the five talukas of Gadchiroli. It is a village which has a decent marketplace. The bus reached Allapalli around 1345 hours. At the market centre, there were couple of jeeps destined to Bhamragarh. I wasn't aware of the bus timings so decided to take a jeep. The distance from Allapalli to Hemalkasa is 57 kms. and takes roughly two hours. Allapalli is very famous for its forests which are a source of famous Teak Wood. Allapalli forests also host 'Glory of Allapalli' which is a forest patch recognized by the Govt. of Maharashtra having a rich collection of teak trees and rare vegetation.
The road from Allapalli to Hemalkasa is unnamed. In 2016, this road was built under the supervision of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Once you leave Allapalli, the mobile is out of network unless you use BSNL. This region is near the Maharashtra-Chattisgarh border. Naxalite influence is quite heavy and a couple of endeavors of private network providers to establish network towers were thwarted by the Naxalites. This road is narrow but good. Traffic is less for obvious reasons. There are road side villages which define poverty. Permili is a big village on the way. There are some shops that can be seen in Permili and a decent population resides here. A fortnight ago, Naxalites had blocked a small bridge near Perimili village. The message is clear that blockades should not be disturbed as the ambush is certain in such circumstances. Later, CRPF personnel and the local police cleared the road. The fellow commuters in my jeep got down randomly during the journey and made me curious as there were no villages in sight. I was told that the villages are deep inside the forests which could be at a distance of 0.5-8 kms. from the road. So the villagers walk the said distance each time they travel. I reached Hemalkasa around 1600 hours.
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Entrance of Lok Biradari Prakalp at Hemalkasa
Source: Google Images
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At Maharashtra-Chattisgarh border; the river divides
Chattisgarh (across the river) and Maharashtra
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Lok Biradari Prakalp is at the main road. There is a general store and an ATM of Bank of Maharashtra which matched my guess of being non-operational. The project is widespread and is built on the land given by the Government of Maharashtra back in 1973 to Dr. Amte. I was supposed to meet Mr. Sushant Sawant, the Security Manager of the project. He was having tea in the mess and offered me the same. I preferred coffee. I had a basic conversation with him. He was very welcoming and accommodating. He apprised me of the schedule. I was more curious to discuss the naxal attack which took place a fortnight back at a distance of a kilometre from the project. However, he strictly told me to avoid such sensitive discussions given the surroundings. There are dormitories to cater the guests. The rooms are spacious, clean and basic. Given the geographical difficulties, they have managed the place exceptionally well. I was given an identity card to be worn till the time of my stay. I did see Dr. Prakash Amte as he came out to have a word with some workers. He wore his usual white vest and shorts. I did nothing for good three hours as my phone had no network and neither was I carrying any reading material. I ventured out around 1920 hours for the dinner. I was excited to see Dr. Prakash and Dr. Manda Amte. The mess is quite big and can accommodate 65-70 people at a time. The utensils are kept outside and it is a buffet system. One has to wash the utensils after usage and keep them back. They stress a lot on avoiding wastage of food. And if you acknowledge the efforts they take to provide their services at this remote location, you get extra cautious. I met Sushant and he asked me to join few more guests in the auditorium. I met three visitors in the auditorium. They had come from Nanded but they were here to render their services as volunteers. There was a voluminous album which narrated the story of Lok Biradari Prakalp since 1974. It was gripping and disturbing. The kind of patients and their rare diseases which Dr. Amte and his associates endeavored to cure, there is no surprise he is God to the people around there and he is fondly called 'Bhau'. Later we were joined by an elderly couple from Nasik. And when all had assembled, we were shown a documentary on the work of Dr. Prakash Amte and Dr. Mandatai Amte. It was fascinating. After the documentary ended, Sushant briefed us about next day's schedule.
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Confluence of Pamul Gautami, Paralkota and Indravati rivers
at Bhamragad
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I was up by 0530 hours in the morning. It was quiet and serene. Birds were chirping, the sun was rising behind the distant hills and the clear sky was decorated with the captivating colors of orange, blue and light red. Morning couldn't have got better. I set out at 0600 hours walked to Parlkota river. Bhamragarh is on the other side of the river. I ventured further to reach the Triveni Sangam (collusion of three rivers) of Indravati, Pamul Gautami and Parlkota. The rivers host scores of crocodiles. I stood at the Maharashtra-Chattisgarh border. Indravati river acts as the boundary between the two states. In those 30 minutes that I spent there, I also witnessed the burial of a body. Tribals have this tradition of burying the dead and it is a very simple affair. I was battling against time so I rushed back to the project and just managed to reach by 0710 hours. After finishing my daily chores, I had my breakfast of Poha and Coffee.
The meeting with Dr. Amte was scheduled at 0800 hours. Sushant led us to Dr Amte's home and we followed. There is a verendah outside where we sat with Dr. Prakash Amte. We exchanged pleasantries and chatted. Dr. Prakash Amte and Dr. Mandatai Amte are very humble. It was very enlightening to talk to them. They were very happy to see me coming alone from Mumbai. The conversation was for some 30 minutes after which we clicked some photos with Bhau and Tai. Bhau led us to his extended family called 'Amte's Animal Ark'. The way Bhau played with the animals was heartening. So there are crocodiles, hyena, leopard, snakes, tortoises, bears, deer, porcupine, wild squirrels, blue bulls, peacocks whom Dr. Amte had been taking care for years. After feeding and playing with all the animals, Dr. Amte took our leave and asked us to visit the entire Project.
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| Dr. Amte with leopard and bear |
Sushant was very helpful and led us to witness the intricacies of the Project. There is a school along with hostels for boys and girls which imparts coaching from Std. I to XII. A huge playground comprises a gymnasium and a small workstation which hosts a machine that is used to recycle the waste. They have a separate mess for the school children and rules are strict for students. Students are encouraged to use computers. A fully equipped computer lab is at their disposal. The project also hosts quarters for the resident teachers. They also operate a school in distant remote village called 'Nelgunda'. The primary work of Dr. Amte is to provide medical care. They have a well equipped medical clinic cum hospital. The peculiar practice is that they maintain the record of patients from over 200 villages. Considering this humongous task of treating patients for all kinds of diseases, it is a rare feat. Usually there are domain experts in medical field but in Hemalkasa the Amte couple used to be the only doctors until the project expanded and many volunteered their services. With the generation of funds, now the hospital has two operation theatres, sonography and X-Ray machines and an incubator too. Villagers from neighbouring states also visit for their treatment. After the hospital, we witnessed the endless awards and accolades which Dr. Prakash and Dr. Mandatai Amte have received over the years. He has been awarded Padmashree and Ramon Magsaysay as well. The Principality of Monaco issued a postage stamp in honor of Dr. Prakash and Dr. Mandakini Amte in 1995. The project has a shop wherein the handicrafts prepared by the children and locals are on sale. There are books written by Dr. Amte and his associates and many other stuff for household use. It was already 1100 hours. Sushant asked us to have lunch and then we were free to move. I packed my bag and had lunch. The guest couple offered me lift till Chandrapur. I readily accepted the offer.
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Dr. Prakash Amte, Dr. Mandakini Amte and myself
at their residence
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At sharp 1300 hours, we departed from Hemalkasa. Life comes to a full circle when you visit such places. The efforts which the entire Lok Biradari Prakalp team has put in is commendable. Perhaps the environment in which Dr. Prakash Amte was born and brought up made him dedicate his life for community service. This initiative of leaving the comfortable life of a doctor and starting something from the scratch amidst the paucity of resources is exemplary. It takes a lot of courage and perseverance to do what Dr. Prakash and Dr. Mandatai Amte have done. Their struggle in the initial days when nobody entertained them and the language barrier they faced, to make people aware of the healthcare and educating them is a tremendous task. This initiative and their services cannot be expressed in words and perhaps that is the reason a movie was made to honour the work of Dr. Amte. I was truly mesmerized by the fantastic work they have done. It was my very great fortune to have met Dr. Prakash and Dr. Mandatai Amte. They have redefined humanity.
P.S.: Here is a link to the website of Lok Biradari Prakalp. One can visit the same and if you wish to donate to this very noble cause, you can do the same online.
