Dua se dawa tak’ scheme in Uttar Pradesh’s 40 districts to treat mentally ill patients

Uttar Pradesh Social Aspects of state

13-Jan-19

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The UP government has been running “dua se dawa tak” scheme in 40 districts of the state to treat mentallyill patients at religious sites. In most of the cases, patients’ families believe they are “possessed” and take them to religious sites instead of taking them to a hospital. Under this scheme, a team of doctors, psychologists and social workers visit religious sites every Thursday and give medicines to patients. Recently, 17 mentallyill persons kept in chains for years at Badaun dargah were freed by the Supreme Court.
In December, 140 camps were organised in 40 districts, while five districts will launch the scheme in January. We are in the process of setting up of district mental health cells in 25 districts, including Badaun, and then officials will start “dua se dawa tak” scheme there.
Of these 40 districts, the highest number of camps (10) were organised in Firozabad district while Barabanki and Gonda held seven camps each in December. Bareilly, Ghaziabad and Lucknow organised six camps each in the same month.
Bareilly district hospital’s psychiatrist Dr Ashish Kumar said, “In the last six months, we have covered six sites in Bareilly — Kohrapeer mazar, Dargah Aala Hazrat and mazars of Basheer Mian, Pehlwan Mian, Dulhe Mian and Niyazi Sahab. Most of the cases reported here are of epilepsy, psychotic and dissociative disorder. As we created awareness about mental health during the camps, people came to the district hospital for followups.”
Under this scheme, psychiatrists first take permission from the management of these religious sites for holding camps. The officials tell the management of religious places that they can continue to treat these patients through prayers while they give them medicines. When doctors give medicines to patients, they also request their families to bring them to district hospital for further treatment. Officials said that in a few districts, the management committees of religious sites refused to give them written permission to hold camps.
Officials said that if they don’t take approval of the management of these religious sites and put up camps without involving them then it will be difficult for the doctors to persuade patients and their kin to undergo treatment. A majority of the patients, who go to religious sites for treatment, are illiterate and have immense faith in the divine than on undergoing treatment for their ailments, officials said. The scheme started in UP after its launch in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

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