SHANGLA: The district administration on Wednesday launched crackdown on illegal medical practitioners and quacks and booked six people besides sealing several clinics and laboratories in various parts of Alpuri tehsil.

The Alpuri tehsil assistant commissioner, Mohammad Hamid Siddiqui, two inspectors of Healthcare Commission and administration staff conducted raids in different bazaars including Alpuri, Kuz Alpuri, Bely Baba, Dehrai and Karora.

Mr Siddiqui told journalists on the occasion that he received several complaints that quacks were running clinics in different bazaars and villages. They said that they were playing with the lives of people.

“In first phase, we started from main bazaars and conducted raids on clinics, medical stores and laboratories,” he said. He added that the campaign against quacks would continue until all illegal medical practitioners left Shangla.

To a question, he said that six persons working in laboratories were arrested for using expired chemicals. He said that eight clinics and medical stores were sealed under Healthcare Commission Act, 2015, and section 170 of Pakistan Penal Code. He said that their cases would be heard in his court within next couple of days.

The official said that cases were registered against illegal medical practitioners. He said that the crackdown would be extended to villages where more quacks were operating illegally. He said that no one harming lives of people would be spared.

Meanwhile, the residents of Aloch in Puran tehsil initiated second phase of ‘rat culling operation’ as rampant rodents were causing problems to locals.

Aloch Welfare Committee on Wednesday urged locals to participate in the rat culling operation to get rid of rodents.

The committee members said that the rats were big in size and caused inconvenience to them.

The president of the committee, Shahid Ali, said the rat culling operation would continue till Friday. He said that local youth would place poisonous pills to rats.

He urged people to protect their chickens, animals and children during the rat culling operation.

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2025