by S. Kenneth Shishir
SOM met Dr. Shetty on Friday, who was on a brief visit to the residence of former Secretary (Forests) to the State Government A.C. Lakshmana, on KRS Road in city who is the friend of Dr. Shetty’s brother Sachidananda Shetty, a resident of Mangaluru and had a short talk about his visit and projects he has taken up here. Excerpts…
SOM: Sir, is Karnataka a place for tourism?
Dr. Shetty: Of course, there is no better place than Karnataka for tourism.
SOM: Have you taken up any projects here?
Dr. Shetty: Yes, I have given a proposal to the Government of Karnataka for a project to supply water to Jog falls near Sagara in Shivamogga, especially during summer when the volume of water is reduced and the falls does not attract tourists. I have plans to supply water under his project on all 365 days to attract more tourists there. Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa has taken interest in the project and if the government approves the proposal, I will go ahead with it.
SOM: Have you planned to open a hospital in India?
Dr. Shetty: Yes, I have acquired a 220-bed hospital in Trivandrum in Kerala State and will be doubling its capacity. In central Raipur I have acquired a majority stake in an orthopaedics hospital as I want to expand it across India to serve Indians. My plan is to offer affordable health care in smaller cities and create a 12,000-bed hospital infrastructure in five years.
SOM: How is the medical sector doing in India?
Dr. Shetty: The medical sector in India is doing very well. The country can be developed as a medical tourism place also. We have the best doctors here.
SOM: How are Indian workers doing and being treated in UAE?
Dr. Shetty: Indian workers in UAE are doing good, well paid and well respected.
SOM: You have taken up many missions to help the downtrodden and the poor. What is your mission in life?
Dr. Shetty: My mission in life is to serve the community, by way of my professional ventures and personal pursuits.
Going from clinic to clinic selling drugs to doctors, loading cartons, hoisting barrels on his shoulder and climbing staircases was the first idea of Dr. Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty popularly known as Dr. B R Shetty, Chief Executive Officer of NMC Healthcare, UAE Xchange and Neopharma, while working in the UAE in the early days.
Born in Kaup, Udupi in 1942, Dr. Shetty served as the Vice-Chairman of the Municipal Council in Udupi, where he worked towards the cause of providing proper sanitary facilities, building concrete roads, schools, underground drainage and septic tanks for people to lead a better and healthier life.
In 1973, he set foot in the desert land of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to pursue his ambitions armed only with a clinical degree in Pharmacy and was able to start, build and succeed at multiple businesses over the years and today, his business empire is spread across the globe.
In UAE, Dr. Shetty who noticed the deficiency for basic clinics in the region, established New Medical Centre (NMC), a small pharmacy cum diagnostic clinic and became successful. Today, Dr. Shetty is the proud visionary behind 15 healthcare facilities which cater to more than one million patients annually. He has also come to the aid of regions hit by natural calamities and other adversities.
Dr. Shetty who is also interested in the tourism sector has taken up many projects to develop certain places as tourist destination with extraordinary infrastructure.
Some of the awards Dr. Shetty has won in recognition of his service are: the Padma Shri by the Government of India, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, Order of Abu Dhabi, by the Government of Abu Dhabi and Forbes Middle East Top Indian Leaders in the UAE award to name a few.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Sunday , December 21st, 2014