Service is religion… there are very few people who make this a reality. But MBBS doctor Noori Parveen, who hails from Kadapa city of Andhra Pradesh, has proved that serving people is more important than money for her. She helps the needy people through her clinic. For her service, the people there call her 'Mother Teresa of Cuddapah', who provides treatment for only 10 rupees.
Noori says, “I fixed my fee at Rs 10 because anyone can pay this amount. Because his clinic is in the area where most of the daily wage workers live. When Noori started his clinic, the word about the '10 rupees doctor' spread rapidly among the people and patients started flocking to the clinic. She says the clinic is full of patients all the time. I used to open the clinic by 8 in the morning and there were patients all day long and I hardly had time to have a juice or a snack.
However, the clinic had to be shut after the government announced a nationwide lockdown to combat Covid in March 2020, almost a month after it began. But seeing the problems of the people, he opened the clinic again. He said that the clinic remained open even during the lockdown. Being a doctor, if I don't care about the health of the public, then who else will. He also distributed food packets and ration kits to hundreds of people. who had lost their livelihood during the lockdown.
The clinic which started with three beds now has 10 staff and 25 beds. Which also includes a junior doctor, a gynecologist and a nurse. Dr. Noori says that- I do not go home. I work in the hospital all day and stay in the hospital. The clinic also has an attached pharmacy, which provides a small source of additional income for the hospital. If a patient needed to consult a specialist, Noori would bring the specialist to her hospital and provide the consultation to the patient for Rs 10.
They have made this arrangement to help patients who would otherwise have to go in search of a specialist and spend more money on treatment. We take only 10 paise from the patients. I pay the fees of the visiting doctors. In the initial days, people suspected that she might be a fake doctor as she charged such a low fee. But as they saw that my patients were getting well, people began to believe in me.
Noori belongs to a simple family. His father is a television mechanic and his mother is a housewife. She grew up in Vijayawada, where she completed her schooling from an Urdu medium government school. He cleared the medical entrance exam and secured a seat in Fathima Institute of Medical Sciences, Cuddapah in 2011.
Noori started volunteering for various NGOs while still in college. She used to donate food, clothes and books to the children. After MBBS, he enrolled for fellowship in critical care medicine and worked in a few private hospitals before starting his own clinic last year.
Noori started the clinic without informing her parents. However, he came to know about the initiative when the local media started reporting about his work. He said- “My parents were very happy to know about my work. He appreciated my work. I believe it is our duty to help others.
When asked how she manages her expenses, Noori says that earlier she was very conscious about her clothes and appearance. "Now I realize that it doesn't matter how you look or what you wear. What matters is the kind of work you are doing and the difference you are making in the lives of others,” says Noori, who loves to inspire youth and is invited to speak at colleges. His younger brother and sister are also doctors. “We believe that serving people is considered in the afterlife. I know that if I am helping others then God will help me and take care of my needs.