LARKANA: On an order of the Larkana District and Sessions Judge Abdul Ghafoor Kalhoro, who had paid a surprise visit to the main store of the district health office on Jan 4, two magistrates, Zafar­ullah Jakhrani and Hamee­dullah Khilji, inspected the store on Monday, it was learnt on Tuesday.

The magistrates have been directed to prepare a report regarding details of the available stock of medicines in the store. While the magistrates were busy inspecting the stocks, district health officer (DHO) Dr Abdul Rehman Baloch in a communication submitted to the sessions judge on stated that a two-member committee comprising senior medical officer Dr Abdul Wahid Tagar (being its head) and taluka health officer Dr Aijaz Shaikh was constituted to document all medicine stocks available in the main store as well as those of the national and other healthcare programmes.

According to sources, the committee has been assigned the task of completing the internal audit within a week.

However, Dr Tafar, when contacted by this reporter, said he had declined to accept the task citing his preoccupation as he had already been handling the Expanded Programme on Immuni­sation (EPI), polio and other akin assignments. “I told the DHO it’s my compulsion that I cannot accept this task as it may affect my other important assignments,” he said.

Sources in the sessions court said that invoices of the medicines delivered till July 2017 were available in the office and the store but the stock register does not have entries regarding dispensing of medicines.

The said that indents from the rural health centres (RHCs) and basic health units (BHUs) under the administrative control of the DHO were obtained but the record pertaining to the dispatch of the stocks to the dispensaries concerned was not present in the store.

“The magistrates themselves are trying to ascertain facts,” the sources said.

Govt dispensary found closed

Meanwhile, Ratodero civil judge and judicial magistrate Ahmed Ali Gabol on Tuesday paid a surprise visit to the government dispensary functioning in Tagar village, situated on the outskirts of Naudero and found it closed.

Residents of the village told the magistrate that no dispenser or other staff had been posted at the dispensary. They said that though locked, it was being used drug addicts.

Senior civil judge of Ratodero Mohammed Ali Ruk had visited the dispensary a few months ago and found it non-functional.

His report was submitted to the Larkana district and sessions judge.

Later, the DHO had submitted a report to the sessions judge stating that Altaf Chachar had been posted at the dispensary and that it was made functional.

Sources said that Ratodero civil judge’s Tuesday visit was in line with the sessions court’s directive to him to verify the DHO’s claim, which proved wrong when the dispensary was again found non-functional.

The villagers complained to the civil judge that they had to take patients to Naudero, some eight kilometres away, to seek treatment due to unavailability of any healthcare facility supposed to be provided by this dispensary.

During his visit to the village, JM Ruk proceeded to a primary school in the neighbouring village of Ballani Tagar and found no teacher or students present there.

The area people informed the magistrate that two teachers were posted at the school. The JM conveyed his report to the Larkana district and sessions judge.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2018