Philanthropist Kilingar Gopalakrishna Bhat, known as Sairam Bhat, a resident of Kilingar in Badiyadka gram panchayat in neighbouring Kasargod district passed away on Saturday. He was 85.
An agriculturist, Bhat was seen as a messiah of the poor having helped in the construction of over 265 houses for the downtrodden in the region without any government support. In his effort to make the youth self-reliant, he also provided hundreds of autorickshaws and sewing machines to young men and women to lead their own life.
It all started in the year 1995 when the region had witnessed torrential rains. One Kuntian, for whom Bhat used to provide areca palm leaves to renovate his house shelter every year, approached him in the midst of rain to restore the shelter of his house. Bhat, who had set apart some money for his Kashi Yathre , decided to use the same to provide a permanent shelter to Kuntian and thus started his journey to provide shelters to the homeless.
From there onwards, Bhat helped people to build their own houses, many times on their own land and sometimes even by buying a piece of land for them in and around Badiyadka gram panchayat. His philanthropist activities extended to providing drinking water facilities, donating autorickshaws and sewing machines to the needy.
A staunch devotee of Sri Sai Baba, Bhat built Sai Mandir in his village and used the facility to carry forward his social activities. Being a Purohit and a traditional medicine practitioner, Bhat arranged allopathic free medical camps every week at the Mandir that used to benefit hundreds of villagers in the area. He had conducted over 900 such medical camps where medical practitioners not only provided free consultation and diagnosis but also provided free medicine to the needy. Sai Mandir was also the venue for marriages of couple from weaker sections of society where the expenses were taken care of by Bhat.
Bhat's philanthropist activities were not restricted to any particular caste or religion, but spread across the weaker sections.
While Bhat received much recognition from various associations, he did not get any recognition from the Kerala state government or the Karnataka state government. He leaves behind his wife Sharada Bhat, son Krishna Bhat, who was the president of Badiyadka panchayat and is currently its member, and daughters Shyamala and Vasanthi.
