NCP MLA seeks crackdown on quacks

Former higher and technical education minister Rajesh Tope on Tuesday sought a crackdown on bogus medical practitioners, pointing out that these quacks were putting the lives of underprivileged patients at risk.

Speaking in the state legislative assembly, Tope, an NCP MLA from Ghansavangi in Jalna, said bogus doctors from other states and 'Bengali babas' were coming to Maharashtra and treating patients for fever, cough, cold and other ailments and even conducting surgeries. He added that these quacks used degrees like BAMS (AM), with AM standing for alternate medicine, which made people assume that they are ayurvedic doctors.

These quacks are known to administer steroids and painkillers and even operate on children. These medicines (when prescribed without caution) affect organs and decrease the body's resistance.

Quacks charged low fees — Rs20 or Rs25, said Tope, adding that their address was not known and they changed their location frequently, which made it tough to track them down in case of any incident.

Tope urged the state government to start a campaign to track down such bogus doctors and take action against them.