Dravid on screen, along with Dr Devi Shetty (extreme left) during the teleconference. Picture by Aranya Sen

Calcutta, Oct. 2: Be fit and keep the doctors ?out of business? ? was the message from Rahul (Mr Dependable) Dravid at a function organised to inaugurate the state-of-the-art Emami National Institute for Bone Marrow Transplantation in Bangalore today.

During a 20-minute interaction with Calcutta through video-conferencing, he said: ?With so much of cricket around and a hectic travel schedule, it is critical for us cricketers to stay fit. But for the common man, the fitness culture is lacking in India. In countries like Australia, the awareness is remarkable. ?

The session was organised at the Rabindranath Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences, off EM Bypass.

?We are focused and looking forward to the first Test,? said the Bangalore boy, who dropped by to inaugurate the facility three days ahead of a series against Australia.

Conceived by renowned cardiac surgeon Devi Shetty, with funding from the city-based Emami group, the facility in Bangalore will aim to provide a permanent cure ? through bone marrow transplantation instead of repeated blood transfusion ? to patients suffering from blood cancer and thalassaemia.

?Bone marrow transplantation costs something between Rs 8 and 10 lakh in our country today which is beyond the reach of the common man. We think medical treatment should be affordable and that?s why we have set up this centre. Bone marrow transplantation will not cost more than Rs 2 to 4 lakh,? said Shetty.

Explaining the cost advantage, he added that the cost of setting up the necessary infrastructure ? around Rs 5 to 8 crore ? would not be passed on to the patients. The patients will be paying primarily the cost of medication, he said.

To begin with, around five cases would be handled every month, but the authorities have plans to scale up the numbers and further reduce the cost. The centre will also be used for academic and research purposes.

?It is a fantastic facility and path-breaking initiative. I am honoured to be associated with a project like this,? said Dravid after the inauguration, also attended by R.S. Goenka of the Emami Group.

Promising that the association was not a one-off affair, Dravid said he was willing to take part in awareness programmes on prevention of thalassaemia and educate parents about the benefits of early bone marrow transplantation.

?I congratulate Dr Shetty for creating this facility and extending the benefit of medical treatment to people at an affordable cost,? said the Team India vice-captain.