Dwarakish’s eyes donated; CM Siddaramaiah, many celebrities and fans pay last respects

BENGALURU: Amidst personal grief, Sandalwood actor-producer Dwarakish’s family donated his cornea, making him a role model for the youth. He joins a list of greats  including late actor Dr Rajkumar, Puneeth Rajkumar who donated their eyes and displayed generosity and selflessness even in death.

Dwarakish’s family donated his eyes to Narayana Nethralaya. With the consent of the family, the primary procedure was done under the guidance of Dr Shailaja. “Dwarkish’s eyes will be examined on Wednesday and corneas will be implanted to recepients. Eye donation is a contribution to society. Two people will get sight from the corneal transplant”.

“Dwarakish’s family agreed to donate his eyes within 10 minutes of his death. Eyes should be donated within 14 hours of death. We have taken the whole eye. This will benefit up to 10 recepients”, Dr Shailaja explained. She further added that eye donation will be beneficial for those who have damaged their eyes from fire crackers and those who are completely blind.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah visited Ravindra Kalakshetra, where Dwarakish’s body was kept in state, and expressed grief over the death of the Kannada actor. All necessary arrangements were made for people to pay their last respects right from 7 am. The funeral rites will be  performed at TR Mill in Chamarajpet as per Brahmin customs. Full state honours with a police gun salute will be given during the final rites.

Earlier, family members performed some religious rituals at the residence. Following that, thousands of fans and friends lined up at Ravindra Kalakshetra to pay their last respects.

Several film industry celebrities and television actors including Raghavendra Rajkumar, Shivaraj Kumar, Darshan, Sudeep, Yash, Srinath, Sumalatha Ambareesh, Shruthi, Sudharani, Umashree, Ashok, Tarun, and others gathered at Ravindra Kalakshetra to pay their last respects to Dwarakish.