Hyderabad: Amid tight security and elaborate arrangements, the Bathini Goud family administered the fish prasadam to over 40,000 persons at Exhibition Ground in Nampally on Wednesday.

Despite it being a subject of controversy, unending queues were formed at the ground with people hoping to find some relief from their nagging respiratory problems through the “miracle drug”.

Asthma patients from various parts of the country were seen lining up for the prasadam from the wee hours of Wednesday and some said they had been camping for more than 16 hours to be the first to receive the prasadam. “I heard it works wonders for asthma patients and I brought my brother along as he has been suffering a lot lately,” said Manju V, a resident of East Godavari, The Times of India reported.

The Bathini Goud family begins administering the prasadam, after the advent of the Mrigasira Karthi (the onset of the monsoon). The family claims it has been distributing the medicine for 160 years. It says the formula behind the medicine was given to an ancestor in 1845 by a saint after an oath was taken that it would be administered free of cost.

The medicine consists of a yellow herbal paste, the ingredients of which have remained a family secret. The paste is first stuffed into a live three-centimetre-long murrel fish that is then slipped into the throat of the patient. Vegetarians have the prasadam mixed with jaggery.

The fish medicine reportedly began being called ‘prasadam’ a few years ago at a time when controversy erupted over its healing powers. Some groups had approached a lower court seeking a ban on the “unscientific” practice. Claims were made that the herbal paste contained heavy metals which could in fact lead to serious health problems. However, the Goud family has maintained that lab tests conducted as per court orders proved the herbal paste was safe to consume.

On Wednesday, city police ensured that adequate security was in place for the entire event. They set up separate queues for women, differently-abled persons and senior citizens to ensure smooth conduct of the annual event. A total of 32 counters were set up with more than 15,000 fingerlings, obtained from the fisheries department, being distributed.

Hundreds of people coming from different states had reached the venue on Tuesday and obtained tokens.