LARKANA: Larkana Mayor Mohammed Aslam Shaikh on Friday said that the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) was set to establish its branch in the city very soon.

Speaking to Dawn here on Friday, the mayor said that he and Larkana Commissioner Ghulam Abbas Baloch held fruitful talks with Prof Dr Adibul Hasan Rizvi, who heads the SIUT, at the institute’s Sukkur branch on Friday and discussed with him modalities of establishing a branch in Larkana.

Prof Rizvi agreed to the proposal, the mayor said, adding that the renowned urologist would send his team to Larkana, possibly next week, to select a suitable place for the new branch.

He said that he and the commissioner assured Prof Rizvi that some ideal locations for the branch had already been identified and could be allotted on an immediate basis.

He said the idea of establishing an SIUT branch in Larkana had been conceived long ago and several initiatives had been taken in the past to give a practical shape to the proposal.

“We discussed the plan with Prof Rizvi at length and he appeared ready to help implement it ... hopefully, a SIUT team will visit Larkana next week to visit the proposed sites,” he said.

In reply to a question, Mayor Shaikh said the most ideal site was a huge piece of land close to the Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhu­tto Medical University (SMBBMU) along the Airport Road.

“It [the site] has good communication system available within the area and a big plot already identified for the purpose is ideal for accommodating a large number of people, mainly patients and their attendants.

“Possibility of expansion in future has also been kept in mind,” said the mayor.

It is pertinent to mention that Nisar Khuhro, a senior minister and Sindh president of the Pakistan Peoples Party, has long been in touch with Prof Rizvi to convince him to help set up a branch of SIUT in this major city of the province.

The towering literary figure of Sindh, late Comrade Sobho Gianchandani, had also once approached Prof Rizvi in this regard.

If it materialises, the plan would benefit a large number of kidney and liver patients from several districts, besides Larkana, who would be able to find excellent treatment facilities close to their areas of residence, the mayor said.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2017