Hyderabad travel group delivers medicines to elderly

HYDERABAD: To help the elderly and those who require daily medication, a city-based travel group has shifted gears and decided to deliver medicines during the lockdown period. Raj Kiran of Backpackers and City Freaks (BCF) says people who are ailing or elderly are most vulnerable to the novel coronavirus. “To ensure that they are safe and take medicines regularly, we decided to deliver medicines to them. Many people are contacting us. Even if we are able to help a handful of people, it will be worth the effort,” the techie-turned-entrepreneur, who founded BCF, told STOI. They take requests on WhatsApp and social media, obtain the prescription and deliver the medicines at doorsteps. Among their most frequent requests are medicines for diabetes and children. Kiran said they charge MRP for medicines, which are delivered for free. “Our travel-related activity came to a standstill due to lockdown. First, we thought of food distribution and blood donation, but we realised there was a gap between demand and delivery of medicines. So we began delivering medicines besides blood donation,” he says. “We have been making an average of 6-7 deliveries every day. The numbers are going up,” said Kiran. With followers across nine major cities, Kiran says the group may ask members in other cities to pitch in. Kiran, Bharath Madhava Reddy and Vikas Ramarapu are among the core team behind delivery system. BCF, has 40,000 followers across platforms.