Ailing, but will to vote rules

PUNE: People who make excuses to abstain from voting can learn from Vishnu Mahadev Datar (86), an ailing freedom fighter, who did his duty as a citizen by voting in Shastrinagar in Kothurd.
Datar, who fought the Goa liberation movement, is paralytic - he can only move his neck and a hand. Yet his will brought him to the polling booth in an ambulance, in a stretcher made from a bedsheet."Voting is my right. It is also my responsibility and duty. I wanted to fulfill it," said Datar, in a shaky voice, speaking to the TOI.
According to his family, Datar has been unwell for some years. His health worsened in January, when he fell while walking at home and a head injury progressed to a paralytic attack.
"He has been bedridden since then. He can hardly move. He cannot sit on the wheelchair. He needs assistance in everyday activities," said his son Nitin. "But when I told him about today being polling day, he insisted on casting his vote," he added.
The polling station was half a km from the Datars' home. Nitin spoke to friends and neighbours and they all decided to call an ambulance to ferry him.
The Datar family lives on the second floor. Six people made a stretcher from a bedsheet and carried Datar in it to the ground floor and then to the waiting ambulance.
He was taken to the polling station and then inside the polling booth in the makeshift stretcher. His wife Padmaja helped him cast the vote. "My family and neighbours made his wish come true. He was so happy to see his inked finger," she said
The Datar family is from Shrivardhan in the Konkan. Vishnu Datar wanted to participate in the freedom movement, but was opposed by his family. So he ran away from home in the 1940s and became a part of the Goa liberation movement. He was sentenced to jail for two months.
After independence, Datar started a small business and later joined a city college as a library assistant where he worked for four decades before retiring 18 years ago. The family has been living in Kothrud for 40 years and all eligible members cast their votes diligently.
"We decided to help him because of his will power. He has shown respect for democracy. We are all inspired," said Subhash Dangi, who helped the Datar family.
Ravindra Lohar, who owns the ambulance, was overwhelmed to see Datar's will. "It is unimaginable what he did to vote. I have been ferrying people in this ambulance for a decade, but such a 'patient' is a first. The happiness on his face made me feel good," he said.