Pratik Foundation to help poor students

Nalgonda: Former minister and Congress MLA Komatireddy Venkata Reddy said here on Sunday that Pratik Foundation, started in memory of his son who died in an accident, would help the poor students to prosecute higher studies. In connection with the birthday celebrations of Pratik Kumar Reddy, several programmes including blood donation, free eye camp and others were conducted in the town on Sunday. Addressing a massive meeting the former minister said that several people were dying due to the scarcity of blood and several poor students could not go for higher studies due to the poverty. Later, he visited the buildings of junior college and vocational college which were under renovation at a cost of Rs. 7 crore donated by the Foundation. He said that the college buildings were being constructed to help the poor students to go for higher education. The Congress MLA said that several people were losing lives in accidents on the national highways and the modern ambulance services with the latest facilities were pressed into service to help them injured. The minister announced that poor students who study in the government colleges would be supplied books free of cost to appear for entrance tests like IIT JEE and Eamcet. The Foundation would also pay fees for the poor students who could not afford to join engineering and medicine though they had achieved good ranks. In an emotionally choked voice, he said that he would see his son in the poor students. Later he laid foundation stone for an orphanage building at a cost of Rs. 10 lakh. "The Foundation would take care of the children who are already there," he added.