Chennai's '10-Rs Doctor' who saved many Poor People's Lives, Passes Away!

Chennai’s ‘Rs 10 doctor’ who was well- known for treating and helping poor people, died of respiratory failure on early Wednesday morning.  Dr C Mohan Reddy charged only Rs 10 for consultation rom poor people. The 84-year-old doctor also treated outpatients in his mid- tier hospital during the lockdown. 

He was admitted to a private hospital on June 25 after he tested positive for COVID-19. “He had recovered after some days. On Wednesday, however, he collapsed suddenly and died of respiratory failure,’’ Dr CMK Reddy, brother of the deceased, told The New Indian Express.

Residents in Villivakkam neighbourhood, especially in the slum areas were saddened to hear the news. A nurse at his hospital told media that sometimes the doctor would even treat few patients free as he couldn’t afford the consultation fee. 

Dr Reddy was born in 1936 in Nellore and completed his early education in Gudur. He graduated from Kilpauk Medical College. He completed graduation at Kilpauk Medical College. He was serving in the railways as general practitioner and started the ‘Mohan Nursing Home’ in Villivakkam. 

“We told him to come home and stay with us during the lockdown, but he asked, who will be there for patients if I leave?’’ recalls Dr CMK Reddy.

“He used to donate money to temples, mosques, churches and orphanages in the area,” he further said. Recalling Dr Reddy’s decades of service, Kalyanam Krishnamurthy, one of his close associates told the media.

He was felicitated by the then Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah for his philanthropic services.