The villagers are concerned about Anna’s health as he has been advised bed rest by the doctors
The villagers of Ralegan Siddhi have put restrictions on visitors wanting to meet the 73-year-old Gandhian and anti-corruption crusader, Anna Hazare. They are concerned about Hazare’s health, as he has been constantly meeting visitors, including scribes, ever since he returned from New Delhi after his historic 97-hour fast for the passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill early this month.
Hazare had to be admitted at Sancheti Hospital in Pune on Tuesday for treatment of his chronic knee ailment. He returned to his village on Thursday morning and the doctors have advised bed rest for five days to avoid further deterioration of the condition of his knees.
A young villager of Ralegan Siddhi, Eknath Bhalekar, told DNA that the villagers have decided that visitors will be allowed to meet Hazare only for three hours in the morning and evening every day — 8am to 11am and 5pm to 7pm. On an average, Ralegan Siddhi — about 79km from Pune — receives 2,000 odd visitors everyday from different parts of the country.
“The constant flow of visitors is causing stress to Hazare. So we have unanimously decided to put an embargo on visitors meeting him,” Bhalekar added, stating that the Hazare cannot afford to strain his health. According to him, since Hazare’s return from New Delhi, the number of visitors has increased immensely.
“Earlier we only had visitors from Maharashtra and nearby states. Now the visitors are coming from all over the country,” he said.
Bhalekar confided that a major chunk of the visitors in the recent days are media personnel eager to interview Hazare after his 97-hour-fast at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
“These interviews are strenuous as Anna has to sit for hours. A few days back, Anna started his interviews at 8am and finished at 3pm without a break. Although his doctors have advised him rest, he goes out of his way to meet people,” he said.
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