Minister for Industries and Commerce T.G. Bharath on Saturday (May 16, 2026) handed over a cheque of ₹25 lakh to the Red Cross Society for setting up a Thalassaemia Centre at the TGV Bhavan in Kurnool city.

Mr. Bharath along with Kurnool MP Bastipati Nagaraju participated in the ground-breaking ceremony for the establishment of the Thalassaemia Centre.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Bharath said he had decided to take up a noble deed on the occasion of his father, former Rajya Sabha member T.G. Venkatesh’s, birthday and decided to donate ₹1 crore from the T.G.V. Group to the Thalassemia Centre housed within the T.G.V. Bhavan. “As part of this, we handed over a cheque for ₹25 lakh to the Red Cross Society affiliated with the Kurnool Blood Bank,” he said.

The Centre intended for blood transfusions is being established at an estimated cost of approximately ₹1.5 crore.

Mr. Bharath reiterated that they are working tirelessly for the development of Kurnool. “Irrespective of political affiliations and regardless of electoral victories or defeats, our family would always be at the forefront working for the development of Kurnool,” he said.

He said that they are taking up various initiatives at the Government General Hospital in Kurnool with his own funds with an aim to transform the GGH into a corporate-standard medical facility. “In collaboration with the Medical College alumni, we are constructing a Knowledge Centre building on a 70-cent plot of land, at an estimated cost of ₹60 crore,” he said.

Kurnool MP Nagaraju said the establishment of a Thalassemia Centre in Kurnool, a facility unique within the State of Andhra Pradesh, is a welcome development. The 20-bed Thalassemia Centre will be of immense benefit not only to the people of Andhra Pradesh but also to those suffering from Thalassemia in the neighbouring States of Karnataka and Telangana.

Patients suffering from the disease would receive repeated blood transfusions, thereby extending their lifespans. The MP announced allocation of ₹9 lakh from his MP funds for the purchase of a “Microtome” equipment for the Kurnool Cancer Hospital.