The healthcare center in Haveli Peeran, Toba Tek Singh, has been non-operational for the past 15 years, due to the inadequate conditions it is being kept in.
Previously, more than a million rupees were invested in the construction of this healthcare center so that people could get quality medical facilities closer to their homes, without them travelling to different cities for treatment.
However, this was never put into effect.
Residents say that even when this center was operational 15 years ago, it would hardly remain open and the doctors were never regular. Furthermore, even though the center is no longer catering to patients, the medical staff and doctors on payroll of this center are still getting their salaries every month.
The local landlords have taken over the center and have started grazing cattle on public property.
Haveli Peeran’s healthcare center was constructed by taxpayers’ hard-earned money – but they remain helpless and without easy medical access. Residents are now going to remote areas for their health concerns due to which many people remain at risk; some have even lost their lives because of unavailability of health resources.
This issue is serious for the residents of Toba Tek Singh and they demand from the Ministry of Health to take action against these landlords, free the center’s land, make it operational again and ensure that doctors and other medical staff are regularly present to treat the ill.