Unani Dispensary all Greek to people

Manav Mander

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, April 24

A board outside the dispensary at Jawahar Nagar proudly displays “Government Unani Dispensary”. As we enter the dispensary curious to know about the Unani form of medicine, we are taken aback as the doctor sitting there is an Ayurveda practitioner.

When we ask about this anomaly, the Ayurvedic Medical Officer, Dr Veenu Khanna, replies she has been posted here for five years and practising Ayurveda, but the name of the facility still stands ‘Unani Dispensary’. “Maybe years ago, when the dispensary came into being, it was a Unani dispensary. But I have no definite information regarding the same. There is little difference between Unani and Ayurveda forms although these two are different streams of relative medicines,” says Dr Veenu.

A pharmacist, Harjeet Singh, says there are two more Unani dispensaries at Behalpur and Budhewal but he is not sure if those have Unani doctors. Hardly any Unani doctor is left in the state, he adds.

Enquiries made to sources by The Tribune reveal the dispensary came into being in 1975 as Government Unani Dispensary. Dr Kewal Dheer was the first Unani Medical Officer of the dispensary. After serving at many places, Dr Dheer retired from the dispensary at Jawahar Nagar in 1996.

When contacted, Dr Kewal Dheer gets nostalgic about the dispensary. He says it was in 1975 that this dispensary was thrown open to the public. “People from all walks of life and different areas visited the dispensary. After I retired, a Muslim Unani doctor started taking care of the dispensary. But after that I lost contact with the dispensary. A few years ago, the department passed a resolution that in case the Unani doctors were not available, the dispensary could shift to Ayurveda, hence the Ayurveda doctor at the Jawahar Nagar dispensary. The number of Unani doctors in the state has become minimal at present,” says Dr Dheer.

Meanwhile, Dr Veenu is busy examining patients. She says she daily examines nearly 15-20 patients. While the OPD fee is Rs 2, she never minds if anyone is unable to pay even that. “I got a new board installed, the doors repaired and saplings planted, so the dispensary gives a welcoming look. But she says the insanitary condition outside the dispensary is her major concern. I get the surroundings cleaned by my staff almost every week,” she says. 

Dr Veenu’s OPD mostly consists of patients with gynaecology problems, joint pains, high blood pressure and diabetes. When contacted, Dr Rakesh Sharma, Director Ayurveda, says the Unani dispensaries are being converted into Ayurvedic ones due to the unavailability of doctors. “The Unani and Ayurvedic form of relative medicines are almost the same but there is a difference in the method of preparation of medicines. While their names are different, the composition is the same,” says Dr Sharma.