Rangareddy: Govt Unani Dispensary wallows in utter neglect

Rangareddy: Despite being located at a suitable location to deliver its services, the oldest Unani dispensary at Dargah Jahangir Peeran under Kothur Mandal in Rangaerddy district is lying in an atrocious state as neither the staff is available nor are the sanitary conditions around the clinic appropriate enough for the visitors.

Standing adjacent to the famous shrine, which has a daily footfall of 1500 to 2000 devotees, this single-room dispensary was established nearly four decades ago to serve the people of the area, especially the visitors, irrespective of their religion. However, neither the regular staff is available nor is their regular supervision to keep the facility active at all times.

The ambiance of the dispensary has become messy with filth coming from an upward direction found accumulating at the door of the clinic making it completely difficult for the people to visit the facility.

The irony is, there is no attendant or a doctor to attend to the patients visiting the clinic and despite having approval for the required posts, most of the seats have been vacant for several years.

"There are four posts sanctioned for the dispensary, including a Medical Officer, a Unani Pharmacist, a MNO/FNO and a part time sweeper. However, except the Unani Pharmacist and the part time sweeper, all other posts remain vacant," informed Dr. A A Khan, State president of All India Unani Tibbi Congress (AIUTC-TS).

"Despite the fact that the dispensary is located at a suitable place, where numerous people, especially devotees, irrespective of their religion regularly visit the Dargah, no measures have been taken so far by the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) to fill the vacant posts and upgrade the healthcare facility. This shows how serious the AYUSH department is in promoting the Unani healthcare system," rued Dr. Khan.

Department of AYUSH' regional deputy director Dr. J Vasant Rao, additionally deployed as additional director (Unani), did not respond to the multiple calls made for a comment on the issue.