The healing touch of Rs. 10 Doctor from Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh.
By S Nagaraja Rao
KADAPA: In a time when doctors charge Rs 300 to Rs 500 on an average even to check pulse, there is a doctor in Kadapa, who is serving the poor and needy for just Rs10 as consultation fee. She is Dr Noori Pari and her contribution in providing medical care for people during Covid-19 pandemic was well-appreciated from all quarters. Those who received medical treatment from Dr Noori Pari are all praise for her service motto. At a time when even registered medical practitioners (RMPs) collect Rs 100 as consultation fee, it comes as a surprise for many.
Dr Noori, though a native of Vijayawada, chose Kadapa, where she studied medicine to serve the needy. She did her MBBS from Fathima Institute of Medical Sciences in Kadapa from 2011 to 2017 and later settled in the town to pursue her career. Her strong zeal to serve the society, could well be described as inherent, as both her grandfather, a noted communist leader from Vijayawada – Noor Mohammed — who served the poor all his life and never bothered to even own a house of his own and her father Md Maqbool, who too followed in the footsteps of his father to serve the society, though he started real estate business to support the family.
When she was little, Noori’s parents wanted her to get traditional education and admitted her to Urdu medium school, where she completed her SSC. However, later she joined a corporate college to pursue Intermediate so she can fulfil her dream of becoming a doctor. Noori says, when she was a little girl, she saw in movies people expressing their gratitude to doctors with folded hands after they recovered from health ailments and this left a lasting impression on her mind. Further, watching her grandfather helping the poor and needy also inspired and motivated her to serve the poor.
On February 7, 2020, she started a hospital at Masapeta in Kadapa town. However, in less than a month Covid-19 pandemic broke out and a lockdown was imposed. Not losing her heart, Dr Noori went ahead to treat the people as decided albeit with much caution.“Now my aim is to establish a multi-speciality hospital to serve the poor and the needy,” she said and added she is also contemplating doing her PG in psychology. She says all one needs is determination to serve the needy and nothing else.
Apart from treating people at her hospital, Dr Noori, through Noor Charitable Trust set up in her grandfather’s name, distributed food and essential commodities to 100 poor people, HIV patients and transgenders everyday during Covid-19 crisis. She is also active in various social service activities. Her parents and siblings say they are very proud of Noori and her work.
A people’s doctor
Noori says she had two options in front of her to serve the poor — entering politics and becoming a doctor and she chose the latter. After completing her MBBS, she did not think of pursuing a PG course in medicine and instead decided to start practice in Kadapa. When she told her decision to her friends and her intention to collect only `10 as consultation fee, some encouraged her but a few others questioned how she expects to sustain herself
Medical help at a small price
Irrespective of medical ailment, Noori charges only 10 and on an average 100 people availed treatment from her per day during Covid-19 pandemic. Even the inpatients at her hospital are charged only50 per day towards bed fee