Sources from Hyderabad have stated that Fish 'prasadam', which is believed to cure asthma, was on Wednesday administered to thousands of patients who have come here from various parts of the country and the program, which began on Wednesday morning at the Exhibition Grounds in Nampally, will continue for 24 hours.
It is said that amid elaborate arrangements made by police and various departments, the distribution of 'prasadam' began at 8 a.m., marking the beginning of Mrigasira Karthi or the onset of monsoon and patients have descended here in the hope of finding some relief to their nagging respiratory problems through the "miracle drug".
The medicine, which the family has been distributing for 160 years, consists of a yellow herbal paste, the ingredients of which have remained a family secret and the paste is first stuffed into a live three centimeter long murrel fish that is then slipped through the throat of the patient.
Some groups have approached a lower court seeking a ban on the "unscientific" practice, claiming that since the herbal paste contains heavy metals it can cause serious health problems. But the Goud family has claimed that the tests in laboratories conducted as per court orders revealed that the herbal paste is safe.
