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By:

Bhalchandra Chorghade

11 August 2025 at 1:54:18 pm

Healing Beyond the Clinic

Dr Kirti Samudra “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” This thought by Mother Teresa finds reflection in the life of Panvel-based diabetologist Dr Kirti Samudra, who has spent decades caring not only for her family but also thousands of patients who see her as their guide. As we mark International Women’s Day, stories like hers remind us that women of substance often shape society quietly through compassion, resilience and dedication. Doctor, mother, homemaker,...

Healing Beyond the Clinic

Dr Kirti Samudra “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” This thought by Mother Teresa finds reflection in the life of Panvel-based diabetologist Dr Kirti Samudra, who has spent decades caring not only for her family but also thousands of patients who see her as their guide. As we mark International Women’s Day, stories like hers remind us that women of substance often shape society quietly through compassion, resilience and dedication. Doctor, mother, homemaker, mentor and philanthropist — Dr Samudra has balanced many roles with commitment. While she manages a busy medical practice, her deeper calling has always been service. For her, medicine is not merely a profession but a responsibility towards the people who depend on her guidance. Nagpur to Panvel Born and raised in Nagpur, Dr Samudra completed her medical education there before moving to Mumbai in search of better opportunities. The early years were challenging. With determination, she and her husband Girish Samudra, an entrepreneur involved in underwater pipeline projects, chose to build their life in Panvel. At a time when the town was still developing and healthcare awareness was limited, she decided to make it both her workplace and home. What began with modest resources gradually grew into a trusted medical practice built on long-standing relationships with patients. Fighting Diabetes Recognising the growing threat of diabetes, Dr Samudra dedicated her career to treating and educating patients about the disease. Over the years, she has registered nearly 30,000 patients from Panvel and nearby areas. Yet she believes treatment alone is not enough. “Diabetes is a lifelong disease. Medicines are important, but patient education is equally critical. If people understand the condition, they can manage it better and prevent complications,” she says. For more than 27 years, she has organised an Annual Patients’ Education Programme, offering diagnostic tests at concessional rates and sessions on lifestyle management. Family, Practice With her husband frequently travelling for business, much of the responsibility of raising their two children fell on Dr Samudra. Instead of expanding her practice aggressively, she kept it close to home and adjusted her OPD timings around her children’s schedules. “It was not easy,” she recalls, “but I wanted to fulfil my responsibilities as a mother while continuing to serve my patients.” Beyond Medicine Today, Dr Samudra also devotes time to social initiatives through the Bharat Vikas Parishad, where she serves as Regional Head. Her projects include  Plastic Mukta Vasundhara , which promotes reduced use of single-use plastic, and  Sainik Ho Tumchyasathi , an initiative that sends Diwali  faral  (snack hamper) to Indian soldiers posted at the borders. Last year alone, 15,000 boxes were sent to troops. Despite decades of service, she measures success not in wealth but in goodwill. “I may not have earned huge money,” she says, “but I have earned immense love and respect from my patients. That is something I will always be grateful for.”

Worries Over Displacements

If we see thoroughly, it is a clear-cut fact that dams and reservoirs provide economic and social benefits that contribute drastically to the management of water, which is becoming an inadequate resource. Nevertheless, these dams and reservoirs may have undesirable environmental and social impacts. The most challenging social impact of dams is the displacement of native people. This is one of the worst impacts of the dam construction on communities, people, all the families in the vicinity and even some villages that have been forced to leave their homes and relocate somewhere else. Therefore, there is tremendous pressure on the government for detailed and accurate assessments by experts to anticipate the socio-economic impacts. The dam affected and displaced people are more in number in Maharashtra than any other state.


Peasants in Maharashtra fought the first struggle against dams in early 1920s, which opposed the Mulshi dam built by the Tatas. Significantly, this is the first known movement organized by the dam-affected persons in India and throughout the world. However, for various reasons, this movement failed. Since then, the fight for survival of displaced people has continued. The venue might be different in the state but the pursuit to get justice is never-ending.


The Sardar Sarovar Dam was proposed in 1961 on the Narmada river near Navagam in Gujarat. It is the largest in a series of large irrigation and hydroelectric multi-purpose dams on the river. The dam has been the focal point of one of India’s largest public movements against mass displacement of farmers, fisherfolk and indigenous people living within the submergence area of the dam. The movement against the dam, known as Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), is led by social activist Medha Patkar.


Initially the government identified 2,000 families equivalent to about 1,50,000 people -- as affected in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. The Sardar Sarovar Dam’s construction was completed to its full height of 138.68 metres in 2017, and the NCA permitted filling the dam to its full capacity based on a clearance from its rehabilitation sub-group that all families had been rehabilitated. Thirty-three villages in Maharashtra were submerged, 4,300 families displaced. According to data from the Narmada Bachao Andolan, 4,135 families were resettled over the last 25 years. Efforts are under way to rehabilitate remaining families, this is a reply form the Maharashtra government for last two decades.


The most challenging social impact of the dam is the displacement of native people. During the vacation their ancestral land and houses were acquired by the government. They are still living in re -settlement. Government forcefully tried to shift them to villages. Some villagers, particularly the old people, succumbed to the strong-arm tactics. But still there are people who are relentlessly fighting for the cause. They categorically refused to move out of the submerged area.

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