Fish medicine: APSRTC to run additional services

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, JUNE 4. The Hyderabad City region of APSRTC will run additional services for the convenience of asthma patients coming from all over the country to reach the Exhibition Grounds, the venue for administration of fish medicine on June 8, it's Regional Manager, Mr. Ch. Rameshwar Rao, said in a statement here on Monday.

Special buses would be operated from 8 p.m. on June 7 to 6 p.m. on June 9. Three additional buses from Secunderabad Station and Charminar; two from Dilshukhnagar, NGOs Colony, Uppal, Midhani, Kushaiguda, Ramnagar, KPHB Colony, Rajendranagar, Jeedimetla, Jubilee Bus Station, Risalabazar and Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station and one additional service from Kachiguda station, Patancheru and Golkonda would be run depending the traffic demand.

The medicine would be administered for 24 hours at a stretch from 8.30 a.m. on June 8. About 6 to 7 lakh patients from all over the country and the globe were expected to take the medicine this year, members of the Bathini family administering the fish medicine for the past 150 years, said here on Monday. Last year, around five-and-a-half lakh patients had taken the medicine.

The Bathini family members were felicitated at a function by the Uttar Bharti Sangh and the All India Industrial Exhibition Society.

Mr. Bathini Harinath Goud, a fourth generation member of the Bathini family into administration of fish medicine, said the Government had fixed the price of murrel fish at Rs. 6 each as against Rs. 5 last year. "The Fisheries department had suffered heavy losses last year as 20-30 per cent of the fish arranged for the medicine had died, mainly during transportation and transfer from various ponds," he said.

While the Fisheries Department had proposed to fix the price of the fish anywhere between Rs. 8 to Rs. 10 each, it was brought down to Rs. 6 each following the intervention of the Home Minister, Mr. T. Devender Goud, at a review meeting on the annual event of the city on the Mrigasira Karthi day.

He said the elaborate process of preparing the fish medicine was on in full swing at their ancestral home in Doodhbowli. "All our family members, particularly the women, were putting in lots of hard work," he explained. The fifth generation members of the Bathini family were being involved in a big way as "we are all getting aged and one never knows what will happen," Mr. Harinath Goud, well into his 50s, remarked.

People cautioned

He cautioned the people not to fall prey to some individuals who were claiming to offer fish medicine. "They were trying to lure people through agents at all important alighting points in the city," he said. The fish medicine was being administered by the Bathini family at the Exhibition Grounds alone. He appealed to the people not to consume anything three hours before the administration of the fish medicine and two hours after taking it to ensure optimum efficacy of the asthma medicine.

The Chairman of the Uttar Bharti Sangh, Mr. Ashok Singh, said several voluntary organisations of the city were making elaborate arrangements for the convenience of the patients.

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