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C.R. Sukumar

HYDERABAD, May 17

THE Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department has chalked out a plan to cash in on the live fish medicine programme being administered free by the Hyderabad-based Bathini Goud family for the last few decades. The medicine has been attracting lakhs of asthma patients to the city during June every year.

Estimating that over seven lakh asthma patients from across the globe would be visiting the city this time to take the fish medicine at the All India Industrial Exhibition Grounds at Nampally here, the Tourism Department has decided to organise `Visit Hyderabad Week' during first week of June to coincide with the medicine programme.

The Tourism Department has decided to illuminate all heritage sites in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad during the first week of June. The department has also initiated steps to exhibit films highlighting Hyderabadi culture and organise food festivals in the city hotels. Plans are also afoot to bring out souvenirs with fish patterns.

It has been widely believed that the Bathini medicine inserted into the live fish and swallowed by the patients would effectively cure asthma. The Goud family has announced that the Muhurtham for commencing the distribution of the fish medicine is fixed as 3 p.m. on June 8 as per the Panchangam and the programme will go on for the next 24 hours to end at around 3 p.m. on June 9.

Apart from making arrangements to widely distribute leaflets pertaining to the diet prescription for the asthma patients taking the medicine, the Bathini Goud family has also updated its Web site — www.fish.medicine.org — to reach out to more people across the globe.

The Goud family, which has been administering the medicine in the city for decades, would prepare the fish medicine at its Doodhbowli residence in the Old City and bring it to the Exhibition Grounds for free distribution.

The Government had allotted a five-acre land to the Bathini Goud family to develop fish ponds for administering the medicine. However, expecting a substantial rise in the number of asthma patients visiting the city this year, the Fisheries Department has agreed to supply `murral fish' measuring two to three inches for the fish medicine programme.

The department plans to set up over 50 stalls at the Exhibition Grounds for selling the fish at Rs 5 per piece. The Fisheries Department has made arrangements for procuring over three lakh murral fish from the Kolleru lake near Vijayawada and ponds, tanks and reservoirs from Warangal and Nizamabad districts in the Telengana region. These fish would be carefully transported to the city alive by maintaining the temperature below 30 degrees centigrade with uninterrupted supply of oxygen.

On its part, the State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) would run special buses to the Exhibition Grounds from all the major centres such as the airport, Mahatma Gandhi bus complex, Jubilee bus station, and railway stations at Kachiguda, Nampally, Begumpet and Secunderabad for the convenience of visitors.

The Government is weighing the proposal to provide free accommodation and other facilities to the asthma patients by erecting temporary halls on the Exhibition Grounds. Following an appeal by the Bathini Goud family, the State Government has urged the Union Railway Ministry to increase the number of compartments in all the trains heading towards Hyderabad and also run special trains during the first week of June.

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