Damodar Ganesh Bapat | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Indian |
| Citizenship | Indian |
| Occupation | social worker |
| Organization | Bhartiya Kushta Nivarak Sangh |
| Awards | Padma Shri |
Damodar Ganesh Bapat (b 1936/37 - d 17 August 2019)[1] was an Indian social worker, notable for treatment and service of leprosy patients at Bhartiya Kushta Nivarak Sangh (BKNS) in Janjgir–Champa district, Chhattisgarh, India.
He was born in the Pathrot village in Amravati district in Maharashtra, India in 1936/37. He completed his Bachelor of arts and Bachelor of Commerce degree from Nagpur.[2] He moved to Jashpur, in Chhattisgarh, in 1970. There, he started volunteering with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh- affiliated Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram. Initially he worked as a teacher for the tribal children.[2] While teaching he became involved with leprosy patients.[2]
He came in contact with Sadashiv Katre who had founded a community in 1962, named Bharatiya Kushtha Nivarak Sangh (BKNS) at village Sothi located 8 kms from Champa, to care for leprosy patients.[2] From 1972 until his death in 2019, during the last four-and-a half decades of his life he served the leprosy patients.[3][4][5] He also worked to improve the public awareness about leprosy.[2]
He died on 17 August 2019 at 2:35 AM, at a hospital in Chhattisgarh.[2] He was 84 years old.[1] Bapat had donated his dead body to Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences, Bilaspur for research purposes.[2]
In 2018, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri in recognition of his social work.[6]