Ganganarayan Barik with a vessel full of warm water for patients at the Balasore district headquarters hospital

Balasore, Sept. 16: Like Murli Prasad Sharma of the Sanjay Dutt-starrer Munnabhai MBBS, he is the darling of all patients, young and old, at the district headquarters hospital here.

It’s not Munnabhai’s trademark jaadu ki jhappi that endears him to them, but something equally warm.

Meet Ganganarayan Barik, 75, who has been making a difference to patient care at the local hospital for over a decade by serving warm water to the sick and ailing, free of cost.

Age has not been a deterrent for the determined septuagenarian, who begins his day long before the town wakes up at the crack of dawn. With his wife’s help, Barik fills four to five vessels with piped water — around 35 litres — and boils it over a stove. After carefully loading the water containers on to his bicycle, he pedals to the hospital, a kilometre away, to greet patients and attendants with his unique warm touch.

The idea of distributing warm water struck him when he had accompanied one of his relatives to the hospital for treatment.

“Warm water was not available anywhere inside or around the hospital. I had to rush back home and fetch it for my ailing relative. That is when I thought of serving boiled water, which is a huge requirement for babies here,” said Barik, a father of five.

He has been on this mission since 1999, four years after he retired as senior assistant of the veterinary department and has become a known face at the headquarters hospital. Doctors and nurses are in awe of him. “He goes around to each room of each ward and shouts, asking if anybody needs warm water. What he is doing is truly commendable,” medicine specialist Bhabani Shankar Pani said.

Some time ago, hot water spilled on to his leg, scalding him. But this did not stop him either. “Once hot water spilled on to his leg while he was cycling to the hospital, causing burn injuries. But he did not worry about it at all. He resumed his service after resting for a couple of days,” said Laxman, one of Barik’s three sons.

People in his neighbourhood also laud his grit. “Even in the gruelling summer or harsh winter, he goes to the hospital to distribute warm water, which he consider his duty. Patients happily accept the water and bless him. He is doing some very wonderful philanthropic work,” said Mantu Patra, a local resident.

Barik’s work has not gone unnoticed. The state government as well as several local organisations have felicitated him for his selfless service. “I am happy that I am able to bring a smile to people’s faces. But all this would not have been possible without the support of my family. I will continue this work as long as my health permits,” said Barik.