The renowned 'fish prasadam' offered by the Bathini family, known for its purported efficacy in treating asthma, will be distributed continuously this year for 24 hours starting from 11 AM on June 8. Bathini Amarnath Goud, representing the family for the distribution, informed reporters on Monday that the event will take place at the Exhibition Grounds in Nampally, Hyderabad.
The Bathini Goud family had been asserting that they have been providing this medicine free of charge for the past 178 years. The ancestral formula for the herbal remedy was bestowed upon their forebear in 1845 by a saint, who mandated that it be dispensed without charge.
On Monday, Bathini Amarnath Goud appealed to the Telangana government to arrange for the convenience of those attending the 'prasadam', which includes ensuring the availability of fishlings, state-run RTC buses for transportation, and security measures.
He mentioned that family members are endeavoring to meet Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to convey this request.
The 'fish prasadam', consisting of murrel fish and herbal paste, has been administered by the Bathini family every year on the occasion of 'Mrigasira Karthi' for more than a century.
However, the medicinal efficacy of the 'fish prasadam' has frequently been scrutinized by scientists, rationalists, and others.
Still, thousands of individuals flock to the city annually to obtain the 'prasadam'.
This marks the first occurrence of the event since the passing of the family patriarch, Bathini Harinath Goud, who succumbed to prolonged illness at the age of 84 in June last year. For the past three decades, Harinath had overseen the organization of the event following the demise of his elder brothers.
Last year, Telangana Animal Husbandry Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav inaugurated the event and asserted that people have lot of faith in the 'fish prasadam'.