A dispensary run by the Maniben Chandulal Maganlal Kothari Charitable Trust in the Kamlapura locality of Palanpur, which is observing its 45th anniversary this year, and offers a basic check-up and medicines to poor and needy patients for just Rs 1 per visit, was recently featured by leading Gujarati TV channel News 18.
 

The dispensary was set up by the Kothari family in 1979. The cost of running the dispensary and dispensing medicines is being subsidised through the Trust with generous donations from late Shri Kantibhai Chandulal Kothari (Hong Kong). It is now funded by Harshil Kothari, and run under the guidance of Satish J Kothari. The dispensary is run in an area where most poor and downtrodden reside. 
 

The dispensary initially used to charge the poor and needy patients in the area just four annas (25 paise) per visit. As a result, the dispensary has been popularly called ‘char anna nu davakanu’. This very basic fee has only been increased by a marginal amount over the past four and a half decades. 
 

The dispensary, which caters to the middle and lower class and poor, was initially run by a fully qualified MBBS doctor, though later doctors trained in other branches of medicine have also been in charge. They are assisted by staff to who are fully trained in dispensing basic medicines for routine illnesses and administering basic first aid treatment. In case of more serious complaints, the doctor refers the patients to a hospital. 
 

Initially, the dispensary was headed by Dr. Ramnikbhai S. Kothari and subsequently, Dr. Kantibhai C. Mehta provided his medical services for a period of over 20 years. Later, it was run by Dr Hirabhai H. Parmar and currently, the doctor in charge of the clinic is Ms. Belaben Trivedi, M.D. (Ayu).
 

The number of cases treated ranges between 80-100 per day. The local work of the Trust is managed by Dr. Satyavatiben Kothari, Dr. Varshaben P Shah (Deesa) and Dr Menan K. Mehta.

Click here to view the News clip