In the year 1924, before the existence of the Indian Medical Association, some of the existing and practicing members of Nellore, led by Captain Dr. M.N. Sastry, who was very active in those days, started the Nellore Medical Association. Dr. M.N. Sastry served as its President, and other members included Dr. Alladi Mahadevaiah, Dr. M.K. Rajagopalachari, Dr. Raghunadha Singh, Dr. Manyam Seshadri Reddy, and Dr. Badi Ananda Gurava Reddy.

The Nellore Medical Association was later merged with the Indian Medical Association when it was started in 1928. Dr. P.C. Reddy, Dr. S. Hanumantha Rao, and Dr. M.K. Rajagopalachari took the initiative and became the founder President, Secretary, and Treasurer of the IMA Nellore Branch, respectively.

Other members during this time included Dr. Konduru Ramakrishna Murthy and Dr. M. Srinivasa Rao, who were known for their house visits. Additional notable members were Dr. Mathulla, Dr. S.V. Viswanadham, Dr. S. Sundara Rajan, Dr. Mahadevaiah, Capt. Dr. Sundararami Reddy, Dr. Benzimen (the first Superintendent of ABM Hospital), Dr. Mr. Mathews and Dr. Mrs. Mathews (famous for her multi-social activities), and Dr. A. Srinivasulu, who was very active in the IMA AP State.

• Dr. M.K. Rajagopalachari was instrumental in constructing the Sai Baba Temple near Swatantra Park.
• Dr. M. Srinivasa Rao, apart from his profession, was a renowned astrologer.
• Dr. S. Hanumantha Rao was the father of Dr. S.C. Subramanyam.
• Dr. Sundara Rajan was the father of Dr. S. Sudarshan.
• Dr. S.V. Viswanadham was the father of Dr. S. Sainadh.
• Dr. M. Seshadri Reddy was the father of Dr. M.V. Krishna Reddy.
• Dr. Badi Ananda Gurava Reddy was the grandfather of Dr. K. Arundhathi, Dr. G.F. Yashodara, and Dr. Kousalya, and the great-grandfather of Dr. G. Ashok.
• Dr. A. Srinivasulu, a past President of IMA AP State, was known for personally visiting each member to collect the annual membership fee every year.

Later, notable members included Dr. Puchalapalli Ramachandra Reddy, Dr. M.V. Krishna Reddy, Dr. A. Srinivasulu, and Dr. P.C. Reddy. Dr. Hanumantha Rao, Rtn. Dr. Enugu Surendramireddy, Dr. Mathews, Dr. Mrs. Mathews, Dr. K. Arundhathi, and Dr. O.M. Boehr were active and running the IMA, Nellore. Later on, Dr. S. Sainadh joined the IMA, playing an active role. Dr. Mathulla's son, Dr. Mathews, was also one of the active members.

In those days, Dr. Mathews took an active role in procuring a site from Nellore Municipality to construct the IMA building. The site was allotted, but for reasons unknown, the allotment was canceled, and so they were not able to construct the building.

Between 1983 and 1985, Captain Dr. P.C. Reddy made another attempt to procure an auditorium and building for IMA. The donor was Enugu Pattabhi Rami Reddy, brother of Dr. Enugu Sundarara Rami Reddy, with a condition that he would gift the property jointly to IMA and the Rotary Club. Some of the members at that time objected to the proposal. Thus, the initiative made by Capt. Dr. P.C. Reddy was dropped.

Later on, the functioning of IMA was taken over by the younger generation, like Dr. J. Sesha Reddy, Dr. Madhusudhan Sastry, Dr. C.R. Reddy, Dr. Harischandra Reddy, Dr. Sathyanadh, and Dr. KSG Hebbar, under the leadership of Dr. A. Srinivasulu, Dr. M.V. Krishna Reddy, and Dr. S. Sainadh. Dr. C.R. Reddy, apart from being active in IMA, was a great philanthropist and donated a huge amount to IMA and other social organizations. The present team made several attempts to procure a site from TB Hospital and GGH, but it was not materialized.

In the late 1960s, the IMA Nellore branch became defunct, and the branch was delisted as the then Secretary did not send the HFC for three years. In the early 1970s, Dr. P. Madhusudhana Sastry took the initiative in reviving the branch. In this process, Dr. P.M. Sastry appointed Dr. C.P. Sastry as President and Dr. G. Seshadri Reddy as Secretary. A membership drive was conducted with active participation from Dr. S.C. Subramanyam, Dr. S. Sainadh, and Dr. A. Srinivasulu. The records of IMA are available in the IMA Office from the renewal of the branch onwards.

• Rtn. Dr. Enugu Sundara Rami Reddy
• Dr. M.V. Krishna Reddy
• Dr. A. Srinivasulu
• Dr. P. Madhusudhana Sastry
• Dr. G. Ashok

Apart from the above 5 persons, Dr. S. Sainadh, Sr. Vice President of IMA, AP State, had the opportunity to be acting President of IMA AP State for 9 months due to the absence of the then President. From IMA Nellore at the National level, Dr. P. Madhusudhana Sastry served as National Vice President, and Dr. G. Ashok, as a founder member of the 1st IMA National Election Commission, had the opportunity to serve as an office bearer at the Headquarters. Dr. G. Ashok also had the record of being a CWC member continuously for more than 25 years. IMA Nellore had the opportunity of having Dr. M.V. Krishna Reddy as MLC, Dr. Vukkala Rajeswaramma as Member of Parliament, Dr. B. Sundara Rami Reddy as MLA, and Dr. Nagabhushanamma, Dr. C. Bala Chennaiah as Z.P. Chairman. Additionally, Dr. I. Anil Kumar Reddy served as an MCI member, and Dr. G. Ashok served as a member of APMC. All of them are proud members of the IMA Nellore branch.

• District Cooperative Bank Upstairs
• Red Cross Old Building and Ladies Club

Later, Dr. J. Sesha Reddy, Superintendent Dr. Ramachandra Reddy of People's Polyclinic offered their hospital meeting hall for IMA to conduct its meetings. IMA meetings were held there onwards in that premises until the construction of its own building.

All executive meetings were held in the hospital of Dr. S.C. Subramanyam. Dr. V.V.G. Krishna Murthy, a very active member of IMA with a record of attending more than 35 National conferences, took the initiative to purchase a flat in Chiranjeevi Apartment and open space on the terrace for IMA meetings. However, this initiative did not materialize.

In the year 1978, during the Golden Jubilee year, the IMA A.P. State Conference was held in the Kasthuridevi School Auditorium. Dr. Capt. P.C. Reddy was the Chairman, Dr. P.M. Sastry was the Vice Chairman, Dr. S. Sainadh served as the Secretary, and Dr. S.C. Subramanyam as Joint Secretary/Treasurer. After the conference, Dr. S.C. Subramanyam took the initiative to open the first bank account of IMA Nellore in the State Bank and deposited the money saved from the conference as a corpus fund.

In the year 1990, the Nellore Medical Society was started for the purpose of purchasing a site and constructing a building. An account was opened with 12 A facility. Dr. G. Ashok and Dr. J. Sesha Reddy made an attempt to donate a site of 63 ankanams to IMA from their family trust. They were successful in convincing trust members, including Dr. K. Arundhathi, Dr. G.F. Yasodhara, Dr. M.S. Kousalya, Mrs. M.R. Samyuktha, and Dr. J. Vindhyavalli.

The land was registered to the Nellore Medical Society with the condition that the constructed building should be named as the Dr. Badi Ananda Gurava Reddy Memorial Medical Hall. For the construction of the building, funds were raised from IMA members and philanthropists. The building committee, with Dr. J. Sesha Reddy as Chairman, Dr. Poondla Srinivasulu Reddy as Secretary, and Dr. S.C. Subramanyam as Treasurer, began construction. The foundation stone was laid in 1990 by Dr. Lingam Suryanarayana, Additional Director of Medical & Health. Dr. J.S. Reddy, Dr. P.S. Reddy, Dr. S.C. Subramanyam, Dr. A.V. Subramanyam, Dr. Sainadh, Dr. C.R. Reddy, Dr. A. Harischandra Reddy, and Dr. P. Chandra Sekharaiah played an active role in raising funds. Dr. V.V.G. Krishna Murthy and Dr. B. Krishna Reddy were active in raising funds from government doctors.

In the year 1995, under the leadership of Dr. C. Sridhar Reddy, Dr. Z. Siva Prasad, Dr. A. Venkata Ramana Reddy, and Dr. P. Sridhar, the initiative to start recreation for sports and games in Dr. Arundhathi Hall was successfully executed. A table tennis table was donated by Dr. M. Sridhar Rao.

IMA Nellore had the opportunity to host the South Zone Leaders Meet, organized by Dr. G. Ashok and Dr. P.M. Sastry, and assisted by Dr. G. Jayachandra. The meeting created history in National IMA politics.

IMA A.P. State gave IMA Nellore the opportunity to start the IMA A.P. State PPW Scheme Headquarters in Nellore. The constitution of the scheme was drafted by Dr. G. Ashok as the coordinator, along with stalwarts of IMA A.P. State.

Dr. KSG Hebbar served as the founder chairman, Dr. P.S. Reddy as Secretary, and Dr. G. Ashok as Treasurer. They were nominated by IMA A.P. State to run the scheme. Later, Dr. Poondla Srinivasulu Reddy and Dr. M. Venkateswara Rao succeeded as secretary. Eventually, the scheme was shifted to Hyderabad for better functioning.

Dr. M. Sridhar Rao and Dr. P. Sridhar brought laurels to IMA Nellore by winning many tournaments organized by IMA, AP State, during conferences.

IMA Nellore had the opportunity of hosting the 15th IMA National CGP conference in the year 1997, with Dr. P. Madhusudhana Sastry as Chairman, Dr. G. Ashok as Secretary, and Dr. Sanjeeva Rao as Treasurer. Dr. J. Sesha Reddy served as Reception Committee Chairman, and Dr. C. Sridhar Reddy, Dr. Z. Siva Prasad, Dr. A. Venkata Rama Reddy, and Dr. B. Krishna Reddy played significant roles in making the conference a great success.

The construction of the second floor and the first renovation of the IMA building was carried out with donations from members and surplus funds from the National conference.

Dr. B. Krishna Reddy as Chairman, Dr. C. Sridhar Reddy as Secretary, and Dr. R. Jaganmohan Rao as Treasurer were instrumental in constructing the second floor of the IMA building, which was named as Natcon Hall. The ground floor and Arundhathi Hall were air-conditioned, and total renovation work, including tiling of walls and floors, was done. Funds were actively raised by Dr. C. Sridhar Reddy, Dr. G. Ashok, and Dr. A. Venkata Ramana Reddy.

The IMA State Conference was held in the year 2000, during which Dr. G. Ashok was installed as State President, Dr. P. Madhusudhan Sastry as Chairman, and Dr. Z. Siva Prasad as Secretary. The conference was held at Kasturba Kala Kshetra, with Dr. C. Sridhar Reddy, Dr. Chimakurthi Mallikarjunaiah, Dr. A. Venkata Ramana Reddy, Dr. B. Krishna Reddy, Dr. R. Jaganmohan Rao, Dr. C.R. Reddy, and Dr. Sathyanadh playing active roles.

The second phase of renovation of the IMA Building was taken up by Dr. P. Srinivasa Teja. The renovation included concealed wiring, false ceilings on the ground floor and in Dr. Arundhathi Hall, as well as the replacement of all fans and lights throughout the entire building. New air conditioners were installed on the ground floor, and the second floor (Dining Hall) and Natcon Hall were air-conditioned. All guest rooms were renovated with tiles, and new bathrooms were constructed. The drainage system was also entirely replaced.

Dr. P. Bakthavatsalam was Chairman, and Dr. C. Amrendra Reddy served as Secretary during this period. Dr. Srinivasa Teja, Dr. G. Ashok, and Dr. M.A.V.V. Prasad were responsible for raising funds for the renovation.

Dr. A.V. Subramanyam was responsible for reviving the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) Nellore Branch. Taking significant personal risks, with the help of Dr. J. Sesha Reddy and Dr. G. Vijaya Kumar, he successfully took over the premises of the Guild of Society building from trespassers. This building now houses the Blood Bank.

Dr. Subramanyam started the Blood Bank, Spastic Centre, and Cancer Hospital on behalf of the Indian Red Cross Society, managing funds single-handedly. He also renovated the Gandhi Ashram where Mahatma Gandhi had stayed in Pallipadu Village. As a patriotic gesture, he compiled a list of 442 freedom fighters from the Nellore district and handed it over to the Government, which subsequently felicitated him on Independence Day 2023.

Dr. Subramanyam played a key role in raising funds for the IMA building from various business companies. Dr. K. Rajamma, retired Professor of Paediatrics, after her retirement settled in Nellore and continued practicing as a physician. After stopping her practice, she started a trust with the help of the public and donated her house along with all monetary benefits. She initiated a short-stay home and crèche, which continues to function in Vedayapalem, Nellore.

Dr. P. Vijaya Kumar, taking immense personal risk, protected the IRCS building for more than three months. He was one of the key pillars of the Anti-Arrack movement in the state. Dr. Vijaya Kumar was also one of the founders of Jana Vignana Vedika and brought its teachings to the public. He was responsible for establishing several organizations focused on the health of society.

During the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, IMA and its members played a crucial role in treating patients, demonstrating unwavering commitment to public health.

• 1st Edition - 1996 by Dr. G. Ashok
• 2nd Edition - 2000 by Dr. G. Ashok
• 3rd Edition - 2004 by Dr. G. Ashok
• 4th Edition - 2005 by Dr. P. Srinivasa Teja
• 5th Edition - 2009 by Dr. P. Srinivasa Teja
• 6th Edition - 2016 by Dr. P. Srinivasa Teja
• 7th Edition - 2019 by Dr. G. Ashok & Dr. P. Srinivasa Teja
• 8th Edition - 2023 by Dr. MCS Reddy & Dr. P. Srinivasa Teja

The history presented above is based on the souvenir available from the 1978 Golden Jubilee IMA State Conference, along with memories shared by Dr. S.C. Subramanyam, Dr. G. Ashok, and Dr. S. Sainadh. We have compiled the history to the best of our knowledge. Some details may be beyond our remembrance or knowledge. We conclude by highlighting some of the medical institutions from that time, as their inclusion is essential to understanding this history.

Medical Institutions (Govt. Quasi Govt. Private):

• Govt. Institution, Govt. Head Quarters Hospital located in the present DM & HO Office.
• Peoples Polyclinic was started by Dr. Puchalapalli Ramachandra Reddy, along with Dr. J. Sesha Reddy, Dr. Ramana Reddy, and Dr. J. Vindhyavalli. This institution served the poor people of the region.
• ABM Hospital was headed by Dr. Benjamin, followed by Dr. O.M. Boehr, who was famous for obstetrics and gynecology.
• St. Joseph’s Hospital, popularly known as Kanikala Hospital, was under the management of Dr. Alladi Mahadevaiah and was famous for deliveries.

Municipal Institutions :

• Victoria Janana Hospital (Jubilee Hospital) was constructed by Nellore Municipality to celebrate the Golden Jubilee Birthday of Queen Victoria Elizabeth. Funds were collected from the public, and the surplus funds from the function were used to build this hospital, which primarily catered to the needs of pregnant women. The founder Superintendent was Dr. G.F. Yasodhara, and the other medical officer was Dr. Appala Narasamma. This hospital was merged with the government in 1961.
• Infectious Diseases Hospital was a lifeline hospital during its time, primarily treating cholera and smallpox. It was headed by Dr. G. Seshadri Reddy and merged with the government in 1961.

Our inspiration to write this history is Captain Dr. P.C. Reddy, who on many occasions told us that the history of IMA Nellore should always remain alive.

**Composed by**: