32 more Basti Dawakhanas to open in Hyderabad

Expanding the network of Basthi Dawakhanas that offer health and medicare free of cost locally to the poor and underprivileged sections in the city, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is making efforts to set up 32 more of these facilities.

The civic body presently has 226 Basthi Dawakhanas that are located across the city offering out-patient services. Each of these facilities is staffed with a doctor, nurse and medical assistant apart from technicians in the pathology lab. On an average, 70 to 150 people visit these facilities every day for medical assistance, treatment and diagnostic tests, and all services were being offered free of charge.

Now, the GHMC is working on 32 new Basthi Dawakhanas and making efforts to have them opened at the



earliest. These are coming up in different residential clusters in local community halls or government buildings.

The decision to strengthen the Basthi Dawakhana network was taken by the State government following the huge response that the existing ones have been receiving. With an increasing number of citizens availing the facilities, the government has come up with a strategy to have 300 of these facilities. The decision by the government has been followed up with initiatives to create the required facilities on a war footing by the civic administration.

While the GHMC is engaged in identifying buildings where these Dawakhanas could be set up, the Health Department takes care of the management of the medical facility.