This is an archive article published on September 21, 2020
Pune: After recovering from Covid, businessman works as wardboy to serve patients
After his home isolation was over, he saw a PCMC advertisement in the newspaper for wardboys. “I immediately went to Bhosari hospital and submitted my application. I was asked to join the next day,” he says. “It was a godsend opportunity.
My intention is to serve humanity, patients who are going through nightmare, said Subhash Gaikwad.
Till a few months back, 35-year-old Subhash Baban Gaikwad, working as a business partner at a security agency, used to earn around Rs 60,000 per month. Now, he earns a salary of just Rs 16,000 working as a hospital wardboy.
But he made the switch out of choice. Gaikwad, who had Covid-19, wanted to serve patients after he recovered, especially those affected by coronavirus.
As a wardboy in Bhosari hospital, he comes to work in his Scorpio, drawing a lot of attention. But he has been drawing praise too for his work. But what made him shun his better-paying job and devote himself to serving patients? “I have survived a scare in my life. Money means nothing if you do not exist in this world. God has given me another opportunity… the medical fraternity has given me a new life and I wish to spend it in the service of patients,” says Gaikwad, whose wife Savita is a nurse at the PCMC-run Bhosari hospital.
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A resident of Spine Road in Indrayani Nagar area of Pimpri-Chinchwad, Gaikwad tested positive for coronavirus in June. “I spent five days in the ICU of YCMH. I was so scared I sent a message to my wife saying I don’t think I will survive,” says Gaikwad.
He recovered after five days and was moved to the general ward for another five days. “My wife was my biggest support. She also tested positive and was home quarantined.”
Before testing positive, Gaikwad says he had fever for nearly 13 days. “I had fever on and off and also bodyache. I took over-the-counter pills for two-three days. But the fever remained. Then I went to Bhosari hospital where I was tested for malaria and dengue. The report was negative. Four days passed but the fever refused to go. Then I went to a clinic. The doctor told me I should get tested if the fever persists. Then I got tested for coronavirus. The report came after three days.”
“I was admitted for two days in general ward of YCM hospital and then five days in ICU. Then I was moved out of ICU,” he says.
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After his home isolation was over, he saw a PCMC advertisement in the newspaper for wardboys. “I immediately went to Bhosari hospital and submitted my application. I was asked to join the next day,” he says. “It was a godsend opportunity. I did not mind the low pay… My intention is to serve humanity, patients who are going through nightmare.”
Gaikwad says on the first day, he was asked to clean the floor where patients are tested for coronavirus at the hospital. “I did it sincerely. I worked in that department for a month, now I have been shifted to another department. I do whatever is asked of me… mopping floor, cleaning tables, files, clearing trash.”
PCMC Additional Commissioner Santosh Patil said, “Gaikwad’s objective is to do social work especially serve coronavirus patients as he himself has gone through the nightmare. And he is doing his work with honesty, dedication and commitment.”
Dr Shaileja Bhavsar, senior medical officer, Bhosari hospital, says, “Gaikwad was in a bad condition when he tested positive and then his condition turned critical… After recovering, he got selected on his own merit as a wardboy. He is a graduate in Arts.”
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Before joining Bhosari hospital one and half months back, Gaikwad was a partner at a Mumbai security agency, handling its Pune office. “It was a team of 250 employees,” he says.
Manoj More has been working with the Indian Express since 1992. For the first 16 years, he worked on the desk, edited stories, made pages, wrote special stories and handled The Indian Express edition. In 31 years of his career, he has regularly written stories on a range of topics, primarily on civic issues like state of roads, choked drains, garbage problems, inadequate transport facilities and the like. He has also written aggressively on local gondaism. He has primarily written civic stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Khadki, Maval and some parts of Pune. He has also covered stories from Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, Ahmednagar and Latur. He has had maximum impact stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial city which he has covered extensively for the last three decades.
Manoj More has written over 20,000 stories. 10,000 of which are byline stories. Most of the stories pertain to civic issues and political ones. The biggest achievement of his career is getting a nearly two kilometre road done on Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki in 2006. He wrote stories on the state of roads since 1997. In 10 years, nearly 200 two-wheeler riders had died in accidents due to the pathetic state of the road. The local cantonment board could not get the road redone as it lacked funds. The then PMC commissioner Pravin Pardeshi took the initiative, went out of his way and made the Khadki road by spending Rs 23 crore from JNNURM Funds. In the next 10 years after the road was made by the PMC, less than 10 citizens had died, effectively saving more than 100 lives.
Manoj More's campaign against tree cutting on Pune-Mumbai highway in 1999 and Pune-Nashik highway in 2004 saved 2000 trees.
During Covid, over 50 doctors were asked to pay Rs 30 lakh each for getting a job with PCMC. The PCMC administration alerted Manoj More who did a story on the subject, asking then corporators how much money they demanded....The story worked as doctors got the job without paying a single paisa.
Manoj More has also covered the "Latur drought" situation in 2015 when a "Latur water train" created quite a buzz in Maharashtra. He also covered the Malin tragedy where over 150 villagers had died.
Manoj More is on Facebook with 4.9k followers (Manoj More), on twitter manojmore91982 ... Read More
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