Meerut (Uttar Pradesh), May 26 : In Meerut, one family has started a free medicine bank to Covid patients. The entire family had tested positive for Covid last month and they had a stock of medicines leftover after all members recovered from the deadly virus. Vijay Pandit, head of the family, said: "In the beginning when the family members tested positive for Covid, we were in a state of panic. We bought Ayurvedic, allopathic and homeopathic medicines prescribed by various doctors. When the family recovered, we noticed that a stock of medicines had accumulated in the house, which was not useful to us anymore." It was then that the family decided to put the medicines to better use and started a free medicine bank. "There are some medicines which are rather expensive and many people cannot afford to buy them. We are giving them free of cost to such patients," he said. The family began by putting out its phone number on the social media and within hours, people began contacting them for medicines. "We also appealed to other people who had leftover medicines to come forward and give their stock to the bank. A large number of persons have given their medicines to us which are now being distributed to the needy patients," said Vijay Pandit. The family intends to continue its efforts in the pandemic. "We are not very wealthy but we will still try and continue to give medicines to the poor," he said. /IANS