Airlifted to Gorkha where he spent about an hour and drank water from a local stone spout
GORKHA, June 9: Senior Neurosurgeon Dr Upendra Devkota, who has been undergoing treatment for Bile Duct Cancer (Cholangiocarcinoma) at Neuro Hospital, Bansbari, was airlifted by a helicopter to his birthplace Gorkha as per his wish on Saturday.
After Devkota expressed his wish to visit his birthplace and drink water from Sisnepani Dhara (a stone spout) located near his home at Pandit Gaun in the district, his family members charted the helicopter and airlifted him to his birthplace. He was accompanied by his wife Dr Madhu and his three daughters--Megha, Basudha and Manjari. A medical team was also with Devkota apart from his family members.
He spent almost an hour at his house with villagers and returned to Kathmandu. After they heard that ailing Neurosurgeon Devkota was being brought to his ancestral house, hundreds of villagers turned up at his house.
Since his house was half an hour away from the place where the helicopter had landed, Devkota was carried on a stretcher by villagers up to his house.
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Villagers had a mixed feeling of happiness and sadness about seeing Devkota. While they were happy to see Devkota at his house, they were also sad to see him in poor health.
“Despite his poor health, he came to his birthplace, our village. It shows his affection for his birthplace and villagers. But I could not control myself seeing him in a poor health condition,” Shankar Devkota, a local, said.
Given his poor health, Devkota was not in a condition to speak. When the villages would come closer to see him, he could only give a faint smile to them. The villagers took turns to see him.
Devkota’s wife Madhu told the villagers that he had come to his village to meet the villagers. Later, as per his wish, he was spooned the local stone spout’s water. Devkota’s elder daughter Megha said that her father always longed for the spout’s water. “He always shared with us that the water of the spout is tasty,” she said, while she filled water into a mineral water bottle to take it back to Kathmandu.
Devkota would visit his birthplace now and then whenever he had free time. The last time he had visited his birthplace was during the recent elections.
Whenever he visited his village, he would meet the villagers and inquire the whereabouts of his friends.
Likewise, he would also manage time for his villagers coming to Kathmandu for medical treatment. “He has always been close to his birthplace and we have also felt close to him due to his friendly and humble nature,” shared Thakur Prasad Devkota, another local.
On medical support, he spent almost an hour on the varandah of his ancestral house.
Then he was flown back to Neuro Hospital, Bansbari, which was founded by him.
Devkota has been admitted to the Bansbari hospital since May after he returned after undergoing medical treatment in London for five months.
