Welltech offers to adopt Ronald Ross Institute

Rasoolpura: The Welltech Foundation, a Secunderabad-based NGO, has come forward to adopt the Sir Ronald Ross Institute of Parasitology here. Ch Veera Chary, president of Welltech Foundation filed a public interest petition (PIL) in the Hyderabad High Court on August 8, 2018.

He urged the State government to hand over the institute to the Welltech Foundation for maintenance. The Welltech Foundation is involved in finding solutions to the health, economic and social problems caused by malaria.

The institute remains closed for most part of the year and is opened on request. The institute is neglected due to the tussle between Osmania University and Airports Authority of India (AAI). It is now under the protection of Osmania University (OU), which acquired it from the then Deccan Airlines in 1955. OU Zoology Department took over the building.

The Institute is a historical place in the field of tropical medicine that accomplished the apex of awards. This is the place wherein Ronald Ross had toiled hard to demonstrate the mysterious Malaria transmission cycle in female Anopheles mosquito. This is the place of pride for Hyderabadis that fetched the first ever Noble Prize in entire Asia in 1902 and second in a row.

This institute can serves as a source of inspiration for many young minds, as in those days Ross could achieve this epoch making discovery with a single microscope, says the OU website.

The university even urges, "generous support in strengthening this historic monument for future generations and also to draw the attention of scientific community and tourists from all over the world to popularize the home pride." At present this historic building needs to be rejuvenated by addition of few more inscriptions of Ross and his research antiques to keep up the flavor of Ross legacy for the benefit of scientific community and tourists from all over the world.

Veera Chary says, "Every citizen has the right to have a glimpse of work done by Sir Ronald Ross who discovered the cause and remedy for malaria in 1897." There have been two hearing thus far. Mr Chary says, "We do not know how long it would take."

Pratap Reddy, the Director of Sir Ronald Ross Institute of Parasitology, said, "We get Rs 40,000 annually to look after building but it is not enough. Also, the last year the water supply was disconnected by the AAI but the problem is solved now."

We get Rs 40,000 annually to look after building, but it is not enough. Also, last year the water supply was disconnected by AAI, but the problem is solved now

– Pratap Reddy, Director of Sir Ronald Ross Institute