Road Doctor Tilak trains PBS students in Vijayawada

Vijayawada: The NSS unit of PB Siddhartha College of Arts and Science conducted Spoorthy 2019 on Thursday, said the college principal Dr M Ramesh. He said the programme was intended to inspire students through selfless mentors who aim to promote social responsibility in the youth.

Balagangadhar Tilak popularly known as 'Road Doctor' who has volunteered to fill potholes on roads for the past 10 years after witnessing various road accidents in Hyderabad. He was the chief guest at the event.

Addressing the NSS volunteers, Tilak said that after he retired from the railways, he worked for a while at a software company. He was heartbroken by the plight of the roads in Hyderabad and was undertaking a road repair programme for himself.

He said actor Amitabh Bachchan invited his family to Mumbai after noticing his service to the society and donated a car to attend to road repairs. He said noted people like Manji and Kalyanaraman were inspired by the voluntary road repair programme to prevent road accidents.

Tilak himself trained NSS volunteers and students on how to fill potholes on the Amma Kalyana Mandapam road near the college and repaired the road by volunteers. The college director, V Babu Rao, Dean Prof Rajesh Jampala, Shubhakar, Srinivasa Reddy, faculty and students were present at the event.