Haveri: Blood donation drive held in memory of friend

HAVERI: There are few better ways to preserve the memory of a loved one that with a gesture aimed at prolonging the life of others, and this is exactly what a group of friends in Marol village in Haveri district have done. To mark the first anniversary of the passing of Maruti Heggappanavar, 61 of his friends, all of whom are members of the ‘Snehajeevi Geleyara Balaga’, organised a blood donation camp.
Maruti had been working as a linesman for the Mangaluru Electricity Supply Company (Mescom) on a contractual basis in Hosanagar taluk, Shivamogga district. He passed away on March 14 last year in an accident while at work. The friends, along with the Central Blood Bank of Haveri District Hospital, Snehamaitri Blood Army in Akkialur and the government high school in Marol, decided on a blood donation drive to pay homage to Maruti.
Chetan Kanalli, one of the friends involved in organising the drive, said that the Snehajeevi Geleyara Balaga had helped old friends stay connected with each other over the years. “Maruti was a friend of ours from childhood. We decided to hold this blood donation camp in his memory, and decided to start the initiative at our high school,” Kanalli said.
YN Balannavar, another member of the group, said that, aside from Maruti’s friends, members of their families, other residents of Marol and even those from neighbouring villages had volunteered to donate blood. “Although Maruti came from an underprivileged family, he dreamt of serving the poor and wanted to work for the welfare of society,” Balannavar said.
Medical officer of Central Blood Bank of the Haveri District Hospital Dr Basavaraj Talawar was generous in his appreciation for the initiative undertaken by the members of the friends’ group. “They have, in paying homage to their friend, worked for the betterment of society. The people of Marol too have shown they have a large heart by coming forward to help save the lives of others,” Dr Talawar said.
Laboratory technical officer at the hospital Basavaraj Kamatad said that they had collected 61 units of blood from the small village that has a population of around 3,000.