Mangaluru: 2023 Karnataka Rajyotsava awardee Charmadi Hasanabba, who was given Rs 5 lakh cash reward is not basking in the glory of the award. Hasanabba has instead bought an ambulance with the cash reward to rescue the injured and take them to the hospital. Hasanabba was honored with the Rajyotsava award by Minister Dinesh Gundarao for his humanitarian work of rescuing and admitting the injured to the hospital in the parts Charmadi of Dakshina Kannada district in the Western Ghats.
Now, with the money from this award, Hasanabba has once again shown generosity by buying an ambulance. Charmadi Hasanabba received a prize of Rs 5 lakh along with the Kannada Rajyotsava Award. But Gundarao spent a total of Rs 8 lakh on the ambulance as he took a loan of Rs 3 lakh from the bank to buy an ambulance vehicle. Hasanabba, who owns a small hotel in Charmadi, has been rushing to help in accidents since 1983.
He used to leave his work to save the accident victims within a radius of 50 km from Charmadi. The injured were rescued and admitted to the hospital by Hasanabba regardless of caste and religion. Also, many dead bodies that had fallen into the Charmadi ditch in the accidents were retrieved by him. Hasanabba would rush to the accident sites and saved thousands of people even when there was no telephone system like now.
Now he has earmarked the money of the Rajyotsava award for the accident victims only. The generosity of buying an ambulance is a testament to humanitarian concern of Hasanabba. Speaking about the award, Charmadi Hasanabba said, "From now on, we will admit injured people who have accidents within a radius of 50 km of Charmadi to Belthangadi Government Hospital through the ambulance”.
The Charmadi Hasanabba Charitable Trust will take care of all the expenses for the ambulance. “No one asks for money during hospitalization. If any injured people give fuel cost, we will take that only. Except for the necessity of taking them to Mangaluru, we will take them to Belthangadi Hospital," he said.
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