Punjab Health dept fails to register salons, parlours

Officers were unable to launch crackdown as no orders were given by higher-ups

MULTAN: Since the cases of AIDS and hepatitis are on the rise in the province, the Punjab Health Department had issued orders to the hairdressers and beauty parlour owners to get in touch with the department immediately and register their outlets.

July 31 was the deadline given for registration. But, the Punjab Health Department officers have been unable to launch a crackdown against unregistered hairdressers and beauty salons because they couldn’t get orders from their higher-ups.

After the deadline ended, a crackdown was decided against unregistered hairdressers and beauty parlours. However, officials of the health department have not taken any action against them as yet.

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District Health Officer Dr Zafar Abbas said he was waiting for the orders from the higher authority in order to launch a crackdown. “Only 3,400 salon and beauty parlour owners from Multan district registered themselves before July 31 while others did not pay any heed due to the negligence on the part of the officials of the health department.

Most salon owners, who have registered their outlets, were of the view that the kits provided by the health department are not of good quality, therefore, it is difficult for them to use.

Earlier, officials of the Multan Health Department also failed to compile polio and vaccination reports on a daily basis. Now during the campaign for the prevention of diseases such as hepatitis and AIDS, the carelessness of the Department of Health Officers can be seen clearly.

When contacted, District Health Officer Dr Zafar Abbas said the campaign was a success. More than 3,400 hair salons and beauty parlours have been provided with kits after the registration in Multan district while the crackdown against unregistered hair salons and beauty parlours will begin in the near future. The kit that was provided later contained a lot of substandard equipment. There is far better equipment available in hair salons.

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Hanif Khan, who runs his own hair salon in the Gulgasht area, said the kit provided by the health department, were of poor quality and they can only be used as a decoration piece.

General Physician Nishter Hospital Dr Sajid Akhtar said that the number of people suffering from hepatitis has increased alarmingly in southern Punjab. “Quacks also play their role in spreading this disease. Hair salons and beauty parlours also use substandard equipment.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th, 2019.