There is nothing greater than service, it is said. True to this spirit, a city-based auto-rickshaw driver, U. Sundar Rao, has been providing free transport to pregnant women for the past 26 years.

This gesture, in spite of his meagre source of earnings, won him accolades when the district administration felicitated 48-year-old Mr. Sundar Rao during the Independence Day celebrations.

Since the year 2000, Mr. Sundar Rao has helped 9,423 pregnant women reach hospital in time for delivery.

And who is his inspiration? No wonder, it is his father U. Prakash, a rickshaw-puller of the 1970s.

At a time when it was not a smooth ride on the roads and there were no emergency ambulance services, Mr. Prakash had offered to ferry pregnant women to hospitals free of cost, realising how difficult it was for them to access medical aid. He continued the service even after purchasing a three-wheeler in the 1990s.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Mr. Sundar Rao has continued the free service and, over the years, developed contacts with ASHA workers and Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs), who contact him whenever the need arises.

“The government is taking care of pregnant women through ASHA workers and ANMs right from the first month of pregnancy. When a woman needs to be admitted to a hospital for delivery, ASHA workers from areas such as NAD, Gopalapatnam, Pendurthi, Chinamushiwada, and Marripalem call me. I reach the place and safely drop them at the hospital without charging anything,” says Mr. Sundar Rao.

He felt immensely happy when the district administration led by Collector Abhishikt Kishore recognised his service and felicitated him and Revenue Minister Anagani Satya Prasad hugged him in appreciation of his gesture.

“My only aim is to see that other auto-rickshaw drivers too come forward and render some form of service to the public,” he said.

Mr. Sundar Rao also provides free transport facility to the elderly and differently-abled persons during ‘Chandanotsavam’ and ‘Margasira Masostsavams’.

Published - August 16, 2026 07:32 pm IST