“A pang of hunger… quenches the hunger of so many … A life without a roof over its head … becomes a fortress of shelter for hundreds … Standing as a pillar of strength for thousands of unfortunate souls … walking alongside lost and helpless orphans… But … that walk does not stop there … As time goes on, it turns into a run … crossing district borders, spanning across states … and encircling neighboring countries. Crying out ‘Service, Service’ … fighting a tireless battle for the hungry and the destitute. Becoming the very ‘morsel of rice’ in their lives, satisfying their hunger.”
There is no need to spell out who these words were written for. It is instantly clear that they speak of “Annam Srinivasa Rao,” a true warrior who stands by the vulnerable. Srinivasa Rao is well known to everyone not merely as the founder and chairman of the Annam Seva Foundation in Khammam, but as a soul bound to the orphans, the destitute, the mentally challenged, and the homeless—a completely selfless servant of the people. He is a rare, dedicated soul who consecrated his entire life to the service of others. After retiring as an employee from BSNL, he devoted all his retirement benefits to social work and established the Annam Seva Foundation, standing tall as a great humanist.
Through this foundation, Annam Srinivasa Rao offers extraordinary services. He endures unimaginable hardships at the shelter built for orphans, the destitute, and those who have lost their mental balance. What doesn’t he do? He cooks and serves like a kitchen hand … drives around as an auto-rickshaw, truck, and ambulance driver… trims hair for orphans like a barber… dresses wounds and wipes away pus like a doctor… and even washes toilets like a sanitation worker. Playing all these roles, he nurses hundreds of inmates in the shelter as both mother and father, ensuring they lack for nothing.
Hunger and Hardship: The Foundation of Service
The poverty, hunger, and hardships Annam Srinivasa Rao faced during his childhood became the root cause for him choosing this path of selfless service. The struggles of those early days planted a deep commitment to service within him. Settling down in life, he was determined to give back to society, leading him to establish the ‘Annam Seva Foundation (2016)’ in Khammam. However, even during his days as a student and throughout his employment, he carried out remarkable service. Today, through the Annam Seva Foundation, Srinivasa Rao delivers expansive, deeply human service:
Shelter for the Homeless: The foundation currently provides food, medical care, and lodging to over 200 people, including the mentally and physically challenged, the homeless, orphans, and the bedridden. It plays a vital role in rescuing mentally unstable individuals wandering the streets, bringing them to the shelter, and providing medical treatment.
Reconnecting Broken Bonds: The foundation undertakes the profound work of treating people who left home due to mental illness, identifying their families, and reuniting them. To date, it has reconnected nearly 200 people from various states across the country with their families. No matter how remote a corner of the country their relatives reside in, he searches them out and hand-delivers their loved ones back with honor.
Corona Service and Final Rites: The service Annam Srinivasa Rao rendered during the dark days when the Covid-19 pandemic consumed humanity was truly extraordinary. At a time when even immediate family members refused to come forward, he performed the final rites for hundreds of people who died of Covid, respecting their respective religious traditions. When former MLA Katta Venkata Narsayya passed away from Corona in Hyderabad, he brought the mortal remains to his native village in the Madhira constituency and personally conducted the cremation alongside family members. When relatives wouldn’t dare step near those who died of the virus, Srinivasa Rao kissed the body of Katta Venkata Narsayya in full view of everyone to spread awareness. He did this to show people that the virus does not spread from a corpse. This act opened the eyes of many. Srinivasa Rao performed final rites for nearly 2,000 Covid victims across both Telugu states, serving across Khammam, the twin Godavari districts, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Mahabubabad, Suryapet, and Hyderabad. Even when apartment complexes refused permission to bring the bodies of Covid victims down using elevators, he personally carried them on his shoulders down the stairs to perform dignified final rites.
He also extensively tended to those undergoing treatment for Corona. Consequently, he contracted the virus himself, but recovered after treatment. Even then, he did not halt his work, continuing to serve victims for as long as the pandemic raged. Furthermore, he worked tirelessly to provide food and shelter to migrant workers and safely transport them back to their hometowns.
Dignified Service for Victims of Rail and Road Accidents
Annam Srinivasa Rao has rendered service to thousands of people who died in rail and road accidents. Whether someone fell from a moving train, died in an accident, or took their own life, he moves the bodies to the mortuary upon police orders and conducts honorable final rites for the unclaimed dead. To date, he has respectfully cremated nearly 1,000 unclaimed bodies of those who lost their lives solely in train accidents. In many cases, he personally transported the bodies in his ambulance to hand them over to their families. When Rayala Chandrasekhar Rao, a prominent leader of a political party, died under a train in Khammam, it was Srinivasa Rao who transported his body as well.
Transporting the bodies of train accident victims is by no means an easy task. Reaching the site of an accident takes immense toil. An accident can happen anywhere along a railway line, where roads simply do not exist. Sometimes, not even a walking trail can be found. One has to brave kilometers along the railway tracks, defying scorching heat or pouring rain, day or night, carefully watching out for oncoming trains. Other times, one must cross streams, rivulets, agricultural fields, and thorn bushes to reach the spot.
Even after reaching the site with great effort, moving the remains becomes a agonizing ordeal. Whether it is an accident, a suicide on the tracks, or a fall from a train, body parts lie scattered all around. All of them must be identified, gathered, and shifted to the mortuary. Srinivasa Rao and his team collect the scattered body parts no matter where they lie, in whatever condition, and regardless of the unbearable stench. They bundle the remains in a cloth, sling the bundle over their shoulders, and walk for kilometers back to the nearest road, from where they transport them by ambulance to the mortuary. When people ask Srinivasa Rao how he endures the stench of decomposing bodies during this process, he smiles and replies that the odor feels like perfume to him.
Recognition and Honor
Srinivasa Rao’s selfless service has earned recognition at both national and international levels, bringing him numerous awards and accolades.
Mention in Textbooks: His work has been included as a lesson titled ‘The warrior who broke all barriers’ in the Intermediate First and Second Year English textbooks in the state of Telangana, highlighting his extraordinary service.
Awards and Honors: For his service to the homeless and mentally challenged, he received several national and international honors, including the ‘Global Peace Prize – 2021’ from the Indore-based World Book of Star Records, as well as awards from the International Lions Club and Rotary Clubs. During the Telangana State Formation Day celebrations in 2016, he received the ‘Best Social Worker’ award for Khammam district from then-District Collector Lokesh Kumar and SP Shahnawaz Qasim. On International Day of Persons with Disabilities, he was honored at Ravindra Bharathi in Hyderabad by then-State Ministers Mahaboob Ali and Koppula Eshwar. In 2020, a documentary made on him titled ‘The Humanist’ won the Best Documentary award at the Uttar Pradesh International Film Festival. Judicial judges from the Simdega district of Jharkhand and the Golaghat district of Assam also presented certificates of appreciation to Srinivasa Rao for his services.
In the past, he served as a mentor in the Khammam District Jail for four years, teaching classes on good conduct to the inmates. When he turned 60 during that tenure, the jail officers and staff came together to celebrate his Shashtipoorthi (60th birthday) on his birth date—until then, he had never even celebrated a birthday. His heart lies only in continuous service and living a simple life, far away from grand showmanship and pomp. Srinivasa Rao’s ultimate wish is to breathe his last while continuing to serve others.
(This story has been compiled based on information shared by Mr. Annam Srinivasa Rao and details available on the internet. The images used here are file photos)
Anand Gantela is a senior journalist with 30 years of experience across print, TV, and digital media. Currently serving as the Editor of Ink Post, his career spans key reporting and editorial roles at Prajasakti, Andhra Bhoomi, Maa TV, Mudra and Prime Post. He writes on regional news, current affairs, and socio-political developments.
