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| Veterinary hospital fleeces customers on the eve of Eid |
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Saturday, November 28, 2009
By Saher Baloch
Karachi
Vets at the Richmond Crawford Veterinary Hospital are unlawfully charging extra money for treating animals, The News has learnt.
As the Eid ul Azha momentum built up, various seasonal diseases among animals have forced their owners to get them fit and ready for the Eid day. Most of the animals suffer from flu and are given anti-biotics like Cytamin and Oxitetra to suppress the infection. The veterinary hospital receives around 40 to 60 animals daily since the start of Eid season.
The people who bring these animals to the vets however complain that the vets at the hospital are earning a lot of money by not giving a proper receipt for the expenses incurred. “Some people are given a slip, some are not. The vets ask for Rs 150 per animal and sometimes Rs 400,” says Farhan, a resident of M.A. Jinnah Road, who brought his goat for a check up at the facility. One of the pet owners showed a receipt and on the left corner of the slip the rates of the animals were mentioned. The rates range between Rs2 to Rs5 and are fixed by the government.
Most of the people visiting the veterinary hospital belong to lower middle class and not all of them are literate enough to understand the prescriptions. “The antibiotics that are required for the treatment are much more expensive than what I can afford” says Mateen, 40, a labourer. “I can not spend Rs150 on antibiotics alone as I just earn Rs200 in a day,” he said.
Reserve Veterinary Officer, Chandra Kumar refuted the claims made by the patients and said that they treat all the animals for free. “We take money only when injections are prescribed by the doctors.”
Incharge Dr Abdul Wahab did not answer the many calls made to him for a clarification in this regard.
Meanwhile, Dr Nasrullah, District Officer Live Stock, says that the hospital and the staff are paid well and “such an occurrence is very rare as the animals are treated for free so where does the talk of corruption and extracting extra money come from?”
The Richmond Crawford Veterinary Hospital was built in 1843 by Richmond Crawford who was the Commissioner of Sindh at that time. Since then the veterinary hospital has been working hard to treat animals suffering from various diseases. Three years back there were reports of the building being demolished as a high rise shopping mall was to be constructed in its place. But the hospital survived that and continues to be functional. Currently it is working under the City District Government Karachi (CDGK), from where the hospital receives its funds.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
