The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Philanthropy is her second nature

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 11, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Philanthropy is her second nature

Ramesh Susarla

Munagala Seetaravamma, a septuagenarian, donates her land and all her savings for public good

— Photo: T. Vijaya Kumar

Helping the helper: Munagala Seetaravamma being brought to the inaugural function of a PHC building on Monday.

KUCHENAPUDI: Septuagenarian Munagala Seetaravamma, a native of Repalle in Guntur district, cannot take even a step forward on her own and her health is failing, but she had a determination of steel to get a modern building for Primary Health Centre at Kuchenapudi village.

Selling her house in Repalle a decade ago she bought 1.1 acres of prime land in the village and donated it for construction of a modern hospital building. Ironically, this village boasts of several landlords with holding of more than 30 to 50 acres, but none had that generosity.

A loner, she lost her husband in her teens and has no progeny and lives in an old age home run by an ashram at Mainenivaripalem near Repalle paying Rs. 600 a month. In 1998, Seetaravamma bought the land for Rs. 3 lakh and donated it, as villagers had to run to Repalle, 15 km away, for treatment.

Red tapism

But political differences and red tape in the administration confined the project to the drawing board. It was talked about even during former Health Minister Kodela Siva Prasada Rao’s tenure, but the building never came up and finally she made an appeal to the local MLA and Minister for Ports and Investment Mopidevi Venkata Ramana Rao to complete the building before she was dead.

On Monday, the building was inaugurated in the presence of five ministers and as a bonus, she promised to donate 12 cents of land in Repalle town for construction of a building that would serve people to perform the last rites of their dear ones.

If you thought this was all, she had donated personal money to get the bridges across canals at Morthada and Bhattiprolu.

Left with only Rs. 2 lakh and none to look after, she wants to donate that also for some public good before her end comes.

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