Mahakalapara: With institutional healthcare services in mess in many coastal pockets of Odisha, quacks are having a field day. They are fleecing gullible villagers on the pretext of providing treatment for various ailments, sources said Tuesday. The situation is the same in this block of Kendrapara district. These fraudsters claim themselves as allopathic, homeopathic and ayurvedic doctors.
Mostly they treat patients in a wrong manner, only compounding the latter’s problem. Many incidents of deaths of patients due to wrong treatment by quacks have been reported. Complaints about their illegal activities have been lodged in many places.
However, these quacks have avoided censure of the law simply because of the lack of doctors and proper healthcare facilities. At many places of Kendrapara district, these ‘fake’ doctors have opened shops. At other places, they move around on a cycle with a loudspeaker proclaiming that they can cure people of all their ailments.
Sources also alleged that these quacks buy medicines that have surpassed their expiry dates at nominal rates from Kolkata and then sell those to gullible people in this block at a higher rate. The quacks are found mostly in the Bengali-dominated localities of Batighara, Kharinasi, Ramnagar, Petchhela, Jambu, Jebi Dandua and Suniti Najura panchayats of this block. It has been alleged that some of these quacks, known as ‘Gaon Vaidyas’, are even carrying out illegal abortions late at night at a secluded place for Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000.
A Gaon Vaidya on condition of anonymity said this is nothing new, but has been going on in the area for a long time. Notably, a woman of Bhateni village under Jambu panchayat died few hours after being administered with a wrong injection two years back. The incident had then rocked the whole district but the Health department except conducting a probe failed to arrest the ‘fake’ doctor. The same quack still runs a shop in Jambu area and is continuing to treat patients. Lack of any punitive action has only emboldened these fraudsters to carry out their work with impunity.
Similarly, a 28-year old youth of Pankapal village suffering from fever died due to wrong treatment by a quack of Benakandha Milanmod area, a year back. A woman labourer of Pitapata village in Ramnagar panchayat also died due to wrong treatment a few years back.
Senior citizen Subhas Chandra Swain said that despite the presence of ASHA, Anganwadi workers, selfhelp groups and ANMs in every village, no one is willing to lodge a proper complaint with the authorities against the quacks. This has enabled these ‘fake’ doctors to function with impunity. When contacted, CDMO Dr. Anita Patnaik said that awareness programmes will be undertaken in the coastal villages soon to check the quacks.