KARACHI  - The Sindh Health Department has failed to finish the project of establishing five burns centres across the province for past five years. In 2009, Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan announced the Rs255million project due to be completed in 2011.
The delay has been blamed on the ‘rift’ between two leading parties of Sindh – Pakistan People’s Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement. The Karachi Civil Hospital, being the lone hospital having a burn centre, has annually been registering more than 2,000 such cases from across the province. From interior Sindh, deaths on the way to hospital have also been reported.
A health official said on anonymity that in 2009, the provincial government announced that these burn centres would be setup at Liaquatabad Sindh Government Hospital, Jamshoro Liaquat Medical University Hospital, Larkana Chandka Medical College Hospital, Sukkur Ghulam Muhammad Mehar Medical Collage and Mirpurkhas Civil Hospital. He said the 65-bed Karachi hospital has been looking for 20,000 patients with minor burns.
Burn Centre Head Dr Ahmer foresaw 40 per cent share of burden if the burn centres would be established in other cities of the province
Pakistani Medical Association General Secretary Dr Qazi Wasiq came down hard on the politicians for such promises
“The successive governments have been doing such sloganeering,” he said and urged the provincial government to complete the construction work of these centres at the earliest.
Whenever fire tragedy takes place, politicians showed up with sympathetic statements and pledges to provide facilities to burnt victims. Rulers roar with compensation announcement while opposition opts for cashing in on such catastrophes.