The Bharat Jodo Yatra that entered the 35th day on Wednesday emphasised the importance of organ donation, by inviting the families of organ donors to walk with Rahul Gandhi. On the occasion, 33 Bharat Jodo Yatris, including two from Karnataka, pledged their eyes.
Inspired by the gesture of the Bharat Yatris, Varuna MLA Yathindra Siddaramaiah also pledged his eyes. All the pledges were registered with JSS Hospital, Mysuru.
Puneet’s example
Eye donation and pledging in the State picked up tremendously following eye donation by the family of late Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar.
Mr. Rahul, who interacted with the donor families and later walked with them, said the yatra also highlights the importance of organ donation and thanked the families of organ donors, whose generosity even during grief helped save many lives.
The organ donors whose families walked with Mr. Rahul included PU student Rakshitha, a native of Somanahalli in Kadur taluk in Chikkamagaluru district, who suffered head injury after falling off a bus. Her parents Shekhar Naik and Lakshmi Bai donated her organs.
Another donor family was that of Veda Manjunath, who met with an accident on Hubbali-Dharwad bypass highway and succumbed to injuries after battling for life at a hospital in Bengaluru. According to a release from Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), the donor’s grandfather H.M. Mallikarjunnappa was a freedom fighter and MLA. “The former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi stayed in their house when she contested the Lok Sabha elections from Chikkamagaluru in 1978,” the release said.
Sanchari Vijay’s family
The third donor family was that of actor ‘Sanchari’ Vijay. The late actor acted in 25 Kannada films and was awarded the National Film Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of a transgender person in the Kannada film Naanu Avanalla...Avalu. He lost his life when the motorcycle on which he was riding pillion met with an accident.
“It was not an age to go. Rakshitha, Veda, and Vijay went away too soon. Even in their death, they gave meaning and happiness to others by donating their organs to save lives. A beautiful gesture of love and sacrifice! I had the privilege of walking with the brave-hearted families of these organ donors. They personify resilience, empathy, and humanity in the truest sense,” Mr. Rahul said.
