Bookbinder wins hearts with yeoman service

BHUBANESWAR: A Good Samaritan who has been on a quest to provide dignity to the dead and helping poor cancer patients for over a decade.
Meet Abhimanyu Das, a 51-year-old bookbinder from Cuttack, who has helped cremate over 1,200 unclaimed and unattended bodies since 2006. He has also been taking care of thousands of cancer patients most of whom are homeless or abandoned, according to a tweet by former Indian cricketer V.V.S. Laxman on Monday. “Hats off to his selfless service,” tweeted Laxman.
Earlier, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik and other personalities had posted about Das’s service on their social media handles. Many organisations have felicitated Das for his work.
Das, a resident of Netaji Nagar in Cuttack, was a bookseller before he met with an accident in Sambalpur in 2002. It was during his recovery period that the idea to help people in need germinated. “My leg was severely injured in the accident. It took me more than a year to recover. During my treatment, I met many poor patients who later inspired me to do something for them,” he added.
He started bookbinding work after he recovered from the injury. “I had first cremated a body in 2006. While coming home, I got information that nobody was coming forward to take the body to the crematorium. The person had died of tuberculosis. I cremated the body. Later, I cremated other unclaimed and unattended bodies. I also help poor families to cremate the body of their deceased kin,” he added.
Das has also helped many patients admitted to the Acharya Harihar Post Graduate Institute of Cancer, Cuttack, since 2010. “I lost four of my family members to cancer. My mother died of cancer two decades ago. Later my uncle, father-in-law and brother-in-law (sister’s husband) also lost their battle with cancer. I had spent a lot of time with my brother-in-law at the hospital in 2010. I saw the plight of cancer patients there. After the death of my brother-in-law, I started visiting the hospital regularly to help needy people,” he added.
He sometimes works as an attendant for destitute patients and coordinates with the hospital staff for their treatment. He also provides food to some attendants or patients. “I also provide clothes to poor patients and their attendants. Many people are there who also help the needy patients after contacting me,” Das added.
Das, who earns around Rs 10,000-12,000 per month from his bookbinding shop, never feels tired to visit the patients and assist them. His son is a Plus III final-year (commerce stream) student in Ravenshaw University. “Though we have a small family of three members, I always feel the patients and their attendants are my extended family. I will always help them till my last breath,” Das said.
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