A quack is among the most welcome persons in rural areas, more so in tribal villages in the old undivided Adilabad district. He is seen as an easy going and affable character who does the job of a doctor without putting on the customary airs and exorbitant fees.
The quack, who is known commonly as the RMP (registered medical practitioner), enjoys a healthy respect among the illiterate and the poor villagers who trust him as a professional for providing quick relief, never mind the unjustified high doses of medicines he gives. Little do they realise that by doing so, he is leading them towards severe health complications and sometimes fatalities. But in these parts an RMP is a rural medical practitioner.
Every mandal headquarters has about three to five such medical practitioners not flinching from house calls to even the remote and difficult to travel areas. Their qualification?
Unheard of degrees in Ayurvedic or Homoeopathy medicine but they practice allopathy.
His kit has standard supply of medicines like paracetamol, antacids, analgesics and antibiotics, both pills and injections, besides bottles of saline.
The RMP does not charge more than ₹ 100 for a session of saline drip and an injection to cure fever and body ache. Often, there is also no demand for money and he accepts whatever the poor patient offers.
Compare this with a town-based MBBS doctor who charges a prohibitive ₹ 500 to ₹ 1,000 and does not go on house calls. Add to that travels cost of the patient and his family and the physical strain involved.
Most of these itinerant physicians speak all local languages including Gondi, Lambadi, Hindi, Telugu and sometimes the difficult Kolami. This is another factor which helps him in maintaining good rapport with people within his area.