Kendrapara, Feb. 15: A 64-year-old dental surgeon from Gujarat has emerged as a shining light at a time when medical students across the country tend to go on strikes, disrupt health care in hospitals, or refuse to serve in the backward areas.

Rajendrasinh Rathod, a former employee of the Gujarat government from Baroda, is on a mission to provide free treatment to the people deprived of health care facilities in India's far-flung corners.

Rathod and his mobile ambulance health clinic recently visited Rajkanika in Kendrapara and set up a camp, which drew a large number of people suffering from dental ailments.

"My goal is to provide dental health care to the people in remote areas, where government-run health service network remains elusive. Except Odisha, Chhattishgarh and Madhya Pradesh, I have already covered 25 states," said Rathod.

On being asked what had driven him to take up the mission, Rathod was blunt in his answer. The doctor said he craved for a constructive retired life, serving the people with his professional expertise. Earning vast amounts of money through private practice never pulled him.

"I treat people for free. Attending to the people suffering from dental ailments gives me immense pleasure," said the veteran.

"I carried out a health camp in Balasore before coming here. It's disconcerting to note the dismal state of dental health care scenario in the state. People lack the awareness to take care of their teeth. It disturbs me to find that the majority of government-run hospitals in Odisha lack dental health care units and dentists. Dental ailments such as pyorrhea are rampant here," he said.

Rathod's ambulance van, having covered a few thousand miles, wears the look of a mini-hospital, armed with every kind of surgical equipment. Besides providing free medicines, he conducts surgeries without charge. He has provided free treatment to nearly 16,000 people so far.

"I arrived at Rajkanika and diagnosed 350 patients in two days. I tried my best to treat as many patients as possible during my 12-hour work schedule. I conducted about a dozen surgeries, too. My assistants have also eased my workload," Rathod said.

A family man, Rathod's spouse Pushpakumari always accompanies him on his trips. He also has an assistant, a cook and a driver to give him company.

Despite his age, Rathod doesn't want to rest on his laurels. "I plan to visit villages in Odisha's backward districts," he said. "I embarked on my mission on February 17, 2013 after I retired from my job. My plan is to conclude the mission on January 1, 2017," said Rathod.

"I am financially well-off. That's why, it was easier for me to extend free medical assistance. A charitable institution came forward to donate the ambulance van and that goaded me to undertake the mission on wheels," he said.

Kendrapar residents, especially those whose lives Rathod has made easier, hail the man for his unflinching dedication to his work. "I was suffering from severe pain. Rathod sir extracted my tooth that had completely decayed. I am fine now. And he didn't charge a single pie," said Rajkanika resident Ramesh Chandra Hota.