Indian, Pak doctors to set up medical centre

Amritsar, Mar 24: After 60 years of bitterness following the Partition, India and Pakistan have for the first time come together in the health and medical sector to set up an eye hospital .

Dr Daljit Singh, a renowned eye surgeon of India and Padma Shree awardee, laid the foundation stone of the 'Nankana Medical Complex' at Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak in Pakistan, recently.

Revealing this to mediapersons after his return from Pakistan, Dr Singh said the medical complex would have an ultra modern eye care centre. The it would be a befitting tribute to Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikh religion, he added.

''This is perhaps for the first time that a collaboration between the medical experts of India and Pakistan has taken place and a venture of such mammoth proportion has been set up to offer low cost medical facilities in Pakistan'' he said.

Medical facilities as well as the cost of medicines are prohibitively expensive for a common man in Pakistan, he added.

Dr Singh said his team of doctors including Dr Ravijit Singh, Dr Indu R Singh , Dr Seema and Dr Kiranjit Singh were applying for multiple and all-time visas to Pakistan so that they may be able to perform surgeries, disseminate latest techniques and mobilise eye surgeons within Pakistan to offer services at nominal cost to their people.

Besides, his hospital here would also try to promote availability of equipment, materials and machines to the medical complex at Nankana Sahib, he added.

The complex has been sponsored and executed by the Pakistan Eye Foundation headed by Prof T H Kirmani, president of SAARC foundation, on one acre land.

This project would symbolise a unique humanitarian cooperation among the SAARC nations and would help to build a strong bond between people of both the countries, Dr Singh added.

Under the agreement between the doctors of both countries, there would be an exchange of experts and technical manpower.

Strengthening existing training programmes in Pakistan would be his endeavour, Dr Singh said.

The complex would be built in a phased manner at the expense of Rs three crore over a period of three years with Operation Theatres, two OPDs, Eye bank and Eye-screening clinics.

Apart from this, regular free eye camps in schools community services, and survey in entire Sheikhupura district of Pakistan would be carried out as per the agreement. Out-reach programmes for the rural poor with free eye treatment besides bringing technical advancements of treatment of eye diseases were the aim of this venture, Dr Singh stated.

He further revealed that Nankana Sahib was one of the most backward areas and reports of eye diseases were high in that region.

Even the cost of medicines procured from developed countries was astronomically expensive in Pakistan, he said and added that medicines would be sent from India.

UNI