It is a heart-warming story about a group of youngsters who refused to give up on their friend whose family did not have enough money for the treatment for his blood cancer. The group of friends from Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam caught the attention of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who has directed officials to help the patient's family.

The group of youth, calling themselves 'Friends of Neeraj Kumar', have been trying to raise money for their friend's cancer treatment. Through their efforts, they managed to raise Rs 2 lakh, but that was not enough.

Neeraj Kumar, a local 17-year-old, was diagnosed with blood cancer a month ago. Doctors said he needed a bone marrow transplant, and the overall cost of the treatment was estimated at around Rs 20 lakh. Neeraj's father is employed at the local Gnanapuram vegetable market, and his mother is a housewife. The family couldn't afford the steep bill to save their son.

That's when the 'Friends of Neeraj Kumar' decided to catch the attention of a high-profile visitor to the city - Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. They lined up outside the airport with placards to catch Reddy's attention. And they succeeded.

"When we got to know that Neeraj has to undergo bone marrow transplant and it requires huge amount, we decided to collect money by every possible means. We formed 'Friends of Neeraj Kumar' and all of us, including his classmates, schoolmates, teaching and non-teaching staff are doing everything we can to get him good treatment. But we could collect only two lakh rupees. Then we came to know the Chief Minister was coming to Visakhapatnam so we decided to bring to his attention. He not only stopped but ensured the amount is paid for the treatment,'' said Solomon Raju, a friend of Neeraj.

Reddy stopped his convoy and called the youngsters over. They presented him with the documents on Neeraj's illness. After going through the documents, Reddy directed the Visakhapatnam District Collector to help Neeraj's family with the treatment.

"CM Sir when he saw the placards asked us to stop the car. He then heard the friends of Neeraj and saw hospital reports and estimates and issued direction to give credit note to the concerned hospital to start the treatment immediately,'' said K Bhaskar, the Visakhapatnam Collector.

That sorted out, Neeraj is set to undergo the marrow transplant at a hospital in Hyderabad. And the 'Friends of Neeraj Kumar' are determined to continue to help him.