Doctor in flooded Indian city abandons car to run last 3km in time for life-saving surgery

Dr Govind Nandakumar shared a short video of himself running on social media

Monday 12 September 2022 12:09 BST

Related: India’s tech hub Bengaluru flooded after days of torrential rains

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An Indian doctor who was stuck in traffic in the southern city of Bengaluru has won praise on social media for running 3km to perform emergency surgery.

Dr Govind Nandakumar, a gastroenterology surgeon, was on his way to Manipal Hospital in Sarjapur in southeast Bengaluru on 30 August when he got stuck in traffic.

His patient had been suffering from a gall bladder illness for a long time and needed surgery.

When Dr Nandakumar realised that the traffic logjam would endanger his patient’s life, he decided to get out of his car. He ran for three kilometres to reach the hospital and then performed the surgery, which was a success.

Last week, Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) recorded the highest rainfall in over four decades which submerged houses, roads and neighbourhoods, sparking a backlash against the local administration for poor planning and risk management.

In several areas, residents from submerged houses had to be rescued by boats.

Traffic deadlocks were made worse after earthmovers and other rescue workers moved in to clear the deluge of the rains.

Dr Nandakumar shared a short video of himself running on social media. He captioned the video: “Sometimes you got to do what you got to do !”

“I commute every day from central Bangalore to Manipal Hospital, Sarjapur, which is in the southeast of Bangalore. I left home well in time for the surgery. My team was all set and prepared to perform the surgery as soon as I would reach the hospital. Looking at the huge traffic, I decided to leave the car with the driver and ran towards the hospital without thinking twice,” he was quoted as saying by NDTV.

He said that his team was waiting for him and had already placed the patient on anaesthesia so the doctor could start the procedure as soon as he reached the operating theatre.