The 'real heroes of India' providing healthcare to India's remote islands

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In the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest where access to healthcare is one of the most pressing problems, one group has been operating boat clinics and working relentlessly for over 40 years to ensure that people are not deprived of the medical assistance that they need. It is this dedication that earned Sabitri Pal and Mohammed Abdul Wohab from the Southern Health Improvement Samity (SHIS) foundation the 'Gold Visionary - The Real Hero of India' award at the News Agency Indian Of The Year Awards on Friday. 


Speaking after receiving the honour, Mr Wohab, a law graduate, said he had seen people dying of tuberculosis when he was a child, and many people with medical issues would die even before they could get to a hospital. He said he and Ms Pal decided to work towards saving the people in the Sundarbans in West Bengal since there were few medicines available to cure tuberculosis and even diagnostic facilities were lacking. 


"So we started collecting medicines from doctors. Since people could not go to the city for treatment - and were already contending with tigers, crocodiles, mosquitoes and snakes - we decided to reach out to them. We have cured more than 1 lakh TB patients. We also made toilets available to more than 1 lakh people, including TB patients. We are now covering more than 2,500 square kilometres of area," he said. 


Mr Wohab says they have five motorised boats, which have medical teams - including doctors and nurses - and diagnostic facilities.


"We Indians have our own culture. We are very rich. The whole world can learn from us, particularly love, and that is something we both have tried to share," he emphasised.  


Ms Pal, who is the president of SHIS, said the Sundarbans is a vast area and people are grateful for the medical facilities that their group is able to provide. 


"We have been doing this work since 1980. We have seen people trying to uplift themselves in an area where life is not very easy. I am very happy to have received this award at his beautiful event," Ms Pal said.