CHAKWAL: In a bid to revive the great tradition of collective philanthropic work after five decades, a group of wealthy people of Chakwal is all set to construct an additional Outpatient Department (OPD) in the premises of District Headquarters Hospital Chakwal which is battling to accommodate the ever increasing number of patients.

The initiative has been taken after Deputy Commissioner Chakwal Ghulam Sagheer Shahid took a lead role in goading some key business men for this task.

“Although I am acting as just facilitator but all the expense on the construction of this new OPD block would be borne by the people of Chakwal”, DC Ghulam Saghir Shahid told Dawn.

Although a final estimate for the construction of the new OPD is yet to be finalised but DC Shahid says that the construction would be completed at a cost of Rs 19m.

“So far Rs 5m has been donated by Oil and Gas Development Company Limited while some other wealthy men also committed to donate the money which would be suffice for the construction of new OPD”, DC Shahid told Dawn.

OGDC has six oildfields in Chakwal and according to law it is mandatory for OGDCL to spend some certain revenue for the welfare of the district from which it extracts oil.

Qazi Muhammad Akbar a noted industrialist and the founding chairman of Chakwal Chambers of Commerce has also pledged to donate Rs 5m. “I and my brother Qazi Muhammad Ashraf would donate Rs 5m for the construction of new OPD”, Mr. Akbar told Dawn.

Malik Tassawar Abbas a co-owner of Pakistan Currency Exchange also promised to donate any amount demanded from him.

“We are going to lay the foundation stone of OPD on Monday”, DC Shahid said.

Yasin Chaudhry another member of Chakwal Chambers of Commerce and owner of Fast Tech Services a construction company would supervise the construction of the new block.

“As many as 2000 patients visit hospital on daily basis which is unable to accommodate them. The new OPD would mitigate this problem”, DC added.

He said that a joint committee has been set up in this regard. Donations from cement factories and another business men has also been promised.

According to District Gazetteer Jhelum published in 1904 Chakwal had only a dispensary at that time which was founded in 1894 and was upgraded to civil hospital in 1928. Civil Hospital was turned into a Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in 1981 while it was upgraded to District Headquarters Hospital in 1985 when Chakwal was given the status of the district.

In 1940 Jawala Devi a rich Hindu woman from Vahali Zer village got built a separate hospital for women in the premises of civil hospital.

The wealthy Saigols hailing from Saigolabad village of Chakwal also did their best in the construction of the hospital. In 1961 Khawja Haji Muhammad Saeed built Khawja Block in the premises of the hospital while in 1962 Haji Fazal Kareem from Saigolabad built Mohakamdin Ward in the memory of Khawja Mohakkamdin.

In 1968 Qamar Jehan the wife of Raja Sarfraz Khan (Chakwal’s influential person who remained Member of Legislative Assembly of and who donated land and money for the construction of Government College Chakwal) built a Sarfraz Maternity Ward in the hospital.

In March 1975 Dr Syed Zahoor Hussain Dental Block was built in the hospital.

Now after five decades that tradition of collective philanthropic work is going to be revived.

“Although Chakwal badly needs a new and well-equipped hospital but this new OPD would at least provide some relief to the patients”, a senior doctor at DHQ Hospital told Dawn.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2018