Hyderabad, August 11: Managing Trustee of the Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust Allu Aravind on Wednesday requested the state government to order a financial audit in the activities of the Chiranjeevi Blood Bank so that the allegations raised against it are put at rest.
Mr Aravind’s request came in the form of a letter addressed to Chief Minister K Rosaiah, in which he said that the allegations raised by some ‘vested interests’ have hurt the feelings of lakhs of Praja Rajyam Party president K Chiranjeevi’s fans.
He said in his letter that, “certain individuals with malafide intentions and with an ulterior motive to put the actor-turned-politician in disrepute, have been levelling allegations through the media against the Chiranjeevi Blood Bank lately.”
Mr Aravind said that the allegations include that the blood collected by the Bank was being sold for commercial gains, and added that these allegations were “tantamount to questioning the sanctity of the honours bestowed on the voluntary and charitable institution by the state government.”
The senior PRP leader said that the Chiranjeevi Eye and Blood Banks were set up on October 2, 1998, and all expenses had been met by the former film actor himself.
He also said that thus far, the Blood Bank had issued about 1,70,000 units of blood and saved thousands of lives.
Mr Aravind also reminded the Chief Minister that the National AIDS Control Organisation had permitted all Blood Banks across the country to charge Rs 850 per unit towards Screening Charges, but the Chiranjeevi Blood Bank chose to forego this money since the purpose of the Bank was to serve the poorest of the poor.
The senior PRP leader emphasised that every single unit of the blood issued through the Chiranjeevi Blood Bank was free of screening charges and added that the entire charges of screening the blood run in lakhs of rupees every month and this is absorbed by Mr Chiranjeevi himself.
Mr Aravind further pointed out that the Chiranjeevi Blood Bank had been adjudged the Best Voluntary Blood Bank in AP for five continuous years from 2003 to 2007 and has earned the praise of former President APJ Abul Kalam for its services.
——INN