Authorities wake up to plight of ‘forgotten dispensary’ in SITE

KARACHI:

A neglected dispensary in the SITE area of Karachi is being turned into a rehabilitation center for drug addicts, days after The Express Tribune highlighted the sorry state of affairs at the abandoned and forgotten health facility.

Ismail Shaheed Dispensary, located in a densely populated locality of the SITE area, was inaugurated on December 1, 1992, but it soon turned into a haven for drug addicts due to neglect and official apathy.

The dispensary staff, both doctors as well as paramedics, would only show up to mark their attendance daily, according to sources. Only one room of the health facility was usable, which too only contained official documents.

The dispensary has been lying in ruins as the peripheral walls of its building were also vandalized by drug addicts. An unbearable stench would greet the visitors if they dared to enter the premises.

The Express Tribune highlighted the derelict condition of the facility earlier this month. Soon after, police swung into action to evict drug addicts from the facility. Police managed to reclaim the building despite resistance from the druggies.

Police claimed that renovation of the dispensary has been started after the eviction of drug addicts. Four policemen have been deployed to make sure the druggies do not return to the building.

Abdul Khaliq Ansari, head of the Sunshine Welfare Organization and former SHO Mominabad police station, has offered to set up a drugs rehabilitation center at the dispensary.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2022.