The 73-year-old Gangadhar Tilak Katnam of Hyderabad is often referred to as the “Road Doctor”. Everywhere they see a pothole, he and his spouse patch it up. For the past eleven years, an elderly couple in the capital city of Telangana has been using their pension funds to patch potholes. When they observed that their concerns to the relevant authorities were not being addressed, they made the decision to act independently.
The duo claims to have patched more than 2,000 potholes across the city.
The 73-year-old Gangadhar Tilak Katnam of Hyderabad is often referred to as the “Road Doctor”. He drove a car they called their “Pothole Ambulance” out into the roads with his 64-year-old wife Venkateshwari Katnam, filling in potholes wherever they might across them.
“After witnessing several accidents on the roads because of potholes, I decided to do something about the issue and to find a solution,” Gangadhar Tilak Katnam said in an interview with news agency ANI.
“At first, I made an effort to voice my concerns to the police and Municipality representatives, but to no avail. At that point, I made the decision to seal these potholes on my own,” he continued.
Tilak had previously spent over thirty-five years working for the India Railways. After retiring, he relocated to Hyderabad to work for a software business as a software design engineer.
Since then, the ex-railroad worker has been patching potholes all around the city. He even left his work as a software design engineer within a year to fully commit to patching the city’s potholes in his quest to find a solution.
Gangadhar responded, “I am managing the finances of this initiative from the pension that I receive,” when questioned about the money. I used the money from my pension to purchase all of the materials needed for the assignment. I have been able to repair around 2,030 potholes in and around the city over the past 11 years, having spent roughly Rs. 40 lakh doing so.”
Government representatives have taken note of his efforts and have offered to assist him by giving him the necessary resources.
‘Sramadhan’ is the organisation Gangadhar claimed he operates with the intention of expanding his activities. “I would never solicit money or gifts from anyone. He stated, “People would willingly pitch in to assist fill up the potholes.
The “Road Doctor” thinks that unless people start lending a hand, the growing population will be a burden: “Many problems can be solved very easily if everyone starts helping the other.”
“We make a difference, road by road,” he said in closing.