The local residents of Gollala Maamidada village in East Godavari district have set up a 30-bed COVID Care Centre (CCC) in their village by raising ₹50 lakh through contributions, to ensure emergency healthcare within the reach of the villagers.
The district officials have permitted the villagers to convert the Primary Health Centre into the CCC, which was inaugurated by Collector D. Muralidhar Reddy on Thursday.
In the first wave of COVID-19, the village was a hotspot in the district with hundreds of locals infected by the virus.
The local people formed a social media group where the issue has been discussed and a decision has been arrived at to pool funds to set up the CCC. Anaparthi MLA Satti Suryanarayana Reddy, senior journalist Sabbella Sivannarayana Reddy and a few others played a key role in translating the idea into a reality.
Mr. Muralidhar Reddy appreciated the initiative and assured the local people of necessary support from the government and deployment of medical and health staff to run the CCC.
Isolation facility
Another local resident and founder of Gollala Maamidada Education Society D.R.K. Reddy has offered his college buildings to convert them into a 300-bed home isolation facility for patients from across the district. It is likely to be opened this week.
