Quack menace continues in Old City

Misrigunj: Taking advantage of illiteracy, backwardness and sheer lack of interest on one’s own safety, quacks in the old city are literally taking people for a ride. Charging as low as Rs 25 to Rs 50 for consultation, these quacks even administer injections and prescribe medicines and a series of tests.

In several ‘clinics’ there is no sign board or name of the doctor. In the eventuality of a problem, patients would not be able to tell the name of the doctor. In a clinic at Misrigunj, a patient was administered glucose while sitting.

Md Irfan, patient who is suffering from typhoid said ‘I became ill so the doctor treated me with glucose and went away for a home visit with his attender and no one was present at clinic’.

Last year there were raids in the Old City and many were taken into custody but many more quacks surfaced said a policeman. DCP V Satyanarayana said, “As and when we get complaints we swamp down on such clinics.”

Many from slums are not bothered to check whether the people running the clinics are qualified. Poverty and illiteracy are the reasons for these quacks to thrive in the Old City.

The areas where the clinics are active are Shaheen Nagar, Suleman Nagar, Hafeezbaba Nagar, Aman Nagar and Vattepally to name a few. The lack of enough urban health posts are also a reason for the mushrooming of such clinics. The government rules do not allow even Registered Medical Practitioners (RMPs) to administer injections and prescribe medicines.

By MM Farooqui