BADIN, March 16: Quacks run clinics in almost every street and lane in the backward district of Badin and its poverty-stricken towns and villages, playing with lives of the poor with complete impunity.

A survey conducted by Dawn revealed on Friday that quacks who were earlier restricted to towns had now spread their tentacles to villages also often in collusion with health officials. Most of them make tall claim before the ignorant and the gullible that they have capability to cure all diseases, especially sexual and reproductive ones.

Some assert that they are experts in treating all types of hepatitis and charge their patients exorbitant fees.

There are many reports about deaths of people caused by wrong prescription advised by these quacks who proudly call themselves doctors. A fairly large number of health department employees are also running clinics in several areas.

A quack who requested not be named told this correspondent that they kept health officials ‘happy’ by fulfilling their illegal demands in return for running their clinics freely and without check.

According to a social worker, Maqsood Ahmed Chandio, more than 500 quacks were operating in the district and offering treatment of a range of incurable diseases including cancer, hepatitis and infertility.

They also performed intricate surgeries and abortions and employed midwives for delivering babies, he said.

The chairman of Munir Welfare Trust, Dr Munir Bhurgari, said that the quacks’ treatment sometimes resulted in devastating the patients’ health beyond cure.

Unqualified hakeems, homeopaths and dispensers often performed very complicated surgeries which resulted in death of patients, he said.He expressed concern over mushroom growth of quacks clinics even in big cities who claimed to have cure for almost all ailments through herbal medicines. They even claimed to treat hernia, which had no other cure than surgical operation, he said.

Dr Bhurgari said that quacks also claimed their medicines had no side-effects but their patients often developed complications after their long.

Ravjee Kolhi of Kario Ghanwar town of Shaheed Fazil Rahu taluka (Golarchi) said that his grandson Partab Kolhi, 4, had high fever and he was taken to Roopo Kolhi’s clinic in Kario Ghanwar a year ago.

The boy died soon after Kolhi administered him an injunction. Later, he sought pardon for his mistake through notables of the area. He is still running his nefarious business under the very nose of authorities, he said.

Ramchand Kolhi, Fateh Mohammad Maheri and other residents of Haji Rustam Khan Maheri village said that quacks in Kario Ghanwar were playing with human lives with complete impunity.

They were also causing spread of infectious diseases like Aids and hepatitis as the poor and illiterate labourers had no other option but to go to them for treatment.

They said they had sent a complaint to high-ups of the health department on Nov 23, 2011 about wicked practices of Roopo Kolhi and other quacks, which was responded by the director general of Health Services Hyderabad.He wrote a letter (No 16475/76 dated 28.11.2011) to DHO of Badin and directed him to take necessary action. The DHO forwarded the letter to in- charge of Medical Centre in Kario Ghanwar to send him a report.

The official reported that the facts narrated in the complaint were true as Mr Roopo Kolhi and Mr Kanjee Kolhi were running clinics in the town. But even after that no action was taken by health authorities to stop them, said the villagers.

Disappointed by health officials, they said, they sent complaints on March 12 to the chief justice of Sindh High Court and chairman of Human Rights Commission of Sindh and other higher authorities, requesting them to take immediate action against quacks and health officials and save lives of the poor people.