Damauli, December 20

Tanahun district is reeling under acute shortage of ayurvedic medicines due to the protracted Madhes agitation and blockade at Nepal-India border points.

According to Damauli-based District Ayurved Health Centre Chief Dr Aiswarya Shrestha, regular treatment of patients had been affected for want of medicines. “The situation is severe as we have run out of stock and two pulverising equipment have gone dysfunctional,” Shrestha informed.

The centre informed that the shortage of ayurvedic medicines had affected regular services at clinics in Abu Khaireni and Gajarkot VDCs.

The Damauli-based centre and other 11 ayurveda clinics in the district have been providing 11 types of ayurvedic medicines free of cost to patients.

“While some of the medicines here are provided by the Ayurveda Department, the rest are procured through a bidding process,” said ayurved inspector Balabhadra Wagle, adding that fewer patients were visiting the ayurvedic clinics nowadays due to the unavailability of medicines.

The centre has also been suffering from manpower crunch for long. “Though the centre has posts for 51 persons, only 42 persons have been providing services,” said Dr Shrestha.