52-year-old Dhirubhai Chhaganbhai Patel, BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate on Valsad seat in Gujarat is an expert doctor in treating Snake bite patients.

Dhirubhai, based in south Gujarat’s tribal dominated Dharampur village with his modern hospital facility is an expert in treating Snake bite patients since last 17 years.

“Since 1994, we have treated more than 6000 patients in our Dharampur hospital and we can proudly say that only 36 mortality occurred,” says Dhirubhai.

Dhirubhai is M.S. (Gen.Surgery). He started his career as a government doctor in Selvas hospital. Due to tribal dominated forest area, proportion of patients suffering from snakebite was very high. Later when Dhirubhai worked in Public Health Centre in south Gujarat, he observed same trend there too.

In late 80s, Dhirubhai decided to spend his life treating snake bite patients. In 1990, he started his own 40 bed hospital in Dharampur. His wife helped him working as a hospital administrator. The hospital now serves not only as a snake bite curing centre but other medical facilities are also available.

Dhirubhai is so passionate about his snake bite treatment service, that he has come out with a website dedicated to this activity. (In photo:Dhirubhai Patel and his wife Rashmiben with python)

Dhirubhai was associated with the BJP as a common party worker for a long time. He is the younger brother of former minister KC Patel, but he never fought even a village panchayat election in past. This is his first election, but in whichever village he enters, his ex-snake bite patients overwhelmingly join him to provide their help in canvassing.

His rival candidate, sitting Congress MP Kishanbhai Patel organizes a ‘tamasha’ (traditional tribal play) that highlights the work he has done as MP in the last five years.