Village volunteers, who have become a big asset for the Andhra Pradesh government and turned a virtual Jagan army in the villagers by extending benefits of various government schemes to the people at their door steps, have now come in handy for the government in one more way.
The state government is said to be contemplating engaging the services of village volunteers for distribution of the much-publicised Nellore medicine, being made by self-styled Ayurvedic practitioner Bonige Anandaiah of Krishnapatnam village.
It is learnt YSR Congress party legislator from Sarvepalli Kakani Goverdhan Reddy came up with this suggestion of distributing the Nellore medicine to the needy people at their doorsteps, so as to prevent them from coming to Krishnapatnam village in thousands, making it impossible for the authorities to enforce Covid-19 restrictions.
The distribution of medicine, which began on Monday, has been restricted to Nellore district at present. For the last two days, it is going on only in Sarvepalli constituency represented by Goverdhan Reddy.
On Tuesday, the medicine was distributed in Manubole and Podalakuru mandals in the constituency. The MLA has ensured that village volunteers have taken up door-to-door distribution of medicine to those who needed it.
Meanwhile, Anandaiah wrote a letter to chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy to extend all possible assistance for the making of the medicine, including procurement of raw material in a big way, keeping in view the huge demand.
Initially, he proposed to distribute 5,000 medicine packets to each district per day, provided the government itself took up the distribution. Similarly, he also offered to supply to the medicine to other states.
If the Jagan government can take up the marketing and distribution of Anandaiah medicine free of cost to the people across the state through village and ward volunteers, it would fetch tremendous mileage to the ruling party, analysts said.