NAROWAL, Jan 26: The district health department has failed to provide better facilities to the people and keep an eye on the menace of quackery.

A survey conducted by Dawn reveals that quacks and self-proclaimed medical practitioners are playing with the lives of the people in many parts of the district. They are inclined to administer injections even if the visitor complains of some minor problem.

Nearly 3,000 quacks are believed to be running their business in the district and, according to a report, the district drug inspector had challaned only 23 of them in 2005.

The data made available by the health department says only 380 medical stores are licensed in the district and more than 3,000 quacks are playing with the health of the people, mostly illiterate, at 1,316 villages in Narowal.

As many as 350 homeopaths and 150 hakims also are illegally prescribing allopathic medicines.

According to District Coordination Officer Rao Manzar Hayat, who is also the chairman of the District Quality Control Board, some injections for veterinary use are being prescribed to the people by quacks. These self-proclaimed doctors, he says, are also using used syringes which can easily carry infections of hepatitis and other fatal diseases.

The board has cancelled licences of three medical stores for selling substandard medicines and asked the traders to wind up their business. He says nine cases had been sent to the drug court for trial.

Saying that the board is trying its level best to rescue the people from the quacks, he warns them and substandard medicine sellers against action.

Association of Human Rights district vice-president Mian Muhammad Rafique said both the federal and provincial health ministers were from Narowal but the district still lacked basic health facilities. He urged the department to take steps to eradicate quackery.

He accused district drug inspector Dr Attiqur Rehman of patronizing quackery — a charge denied by the latter.

Defending his position, the inspector said he had been posted in Narowal four months ago and wanted to check quackery but the department had yet to provide him any vehicle for the field work. He said he was not able to do the job because of unavailability of official vehicle.

EDO (Health) Dr Shujaat Saleem said he had ordered crackdown on the sale of substandard medicines in the district.

Meanwhile, the people of the district have demanded that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi should take stock of the situation and order improvement in the health services.