K. Kunhiraman, a stone mason, always dreamt of constructing a hospital that will help the people of his village at Cheruvathur in Kasaragod district get emergency treatment.
While many doubted and questioned him, Mr. Kunhiraman proved them wrong by constructing a small hospital himself.
The hospital, called KKR Medical Clinic, is to be inaugurated on June 25 and is coming up on a small plot of land near Cheruvathur village office. It can accommodate at least 10 patients and has all emergency medical aids, equipment, labs, scanning facility, and three regular and visiting doctors.
His strong desire and will to construct a hospital started with the death of his mother. She had suffered from severe chest pain and was denied treatment from some hospitals citing that she may not live for more than two weeks, recalled Mr. Kunhiraman. Though another hospital carried out the surgery, her health deteriorated. However, she lived for another six months after getting treatment at another hospital in Mangaluru.
Likewise, a poor neighbour of his was forced to give over ₹8 lakh for treatment at a hospital. There were many other experiences that strengthened his determination to start a hospital for the people of his village, who have had to travel long distances for treatment, he said.
Mr. Kunhiraman said that being a mason helped him to quickly fulfill his dream of constructing a hospital. Every stone of the building was laid by him, he said proudly. Though it helped reduce his expenses marginally, he raised the rest of the fund by taking loans and through chit funds.
He said that luck favoured him and without many hurdles he got permission and licenses to start the hospital in two months.
“The doctors and the staff believed in me and without their support it would have been just another building,” he said.
The hospital will receive the service of Sachin Madhav, who is a specialist in general medicine, K. Deepak, a child specialist, Dr. Abhiram Krishna, and other visiting doctors. Besides them, there are 16 other staff including nurses and technicians.
After accomplishing his first dream, he has now moved to another wish of making the hospital as affordable and convenient as possible to the people of the village.
Mr. Kunhiraman is not just a mason, but active in the field of drama and art. He is a well-known drama actor and has received 37 awards, including from the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi. He has produced and acted in a few films too.
