Kathmandu: After Bhutan, Nepal became the second country in the world to say ‘No’ to Coronil kits gifted by yoga guru Ramdev’s Patanjali Group. The country on Monday stopped the distribution of Coronil kits citing lack of proof of being effective in dealing with the Covid-19 virus.
As per media reports, Nepal’s Department of Ayurveda and Alternative Medicines said the proper procedure was not followed while procuring the 1,500 kits of Coronil that Patanjali claims are useful in dealing with Covid-19 infection. “Tablets and nasal oil that are part of the Coronil kit are not equivalent to medicines to defeat Covid-19 virus,” the order from the Nepal government stated.
The move from the Nepal government is being perceived by some groups as an attempt to delink leading Madhesi political families from the Indian group.
The Union health ministry, on the other side, has clarified that there is no formal ban on Patanjali products. “The Nepal’s government has not issued any formal ban order against Patanjali’s Ayurveda-based Coronil in the country”, a health ministry spokesperson told India Today.
Health Ministry Spokesperson Dr. Krishna Prasad Poudyal refuted media reports that the Nepal government has banned Coronil in the country. “The government has not issued any formal ban order against the medicine,” he said.
He further added that any type of medicines to be distributed to the general public needs to be registered at the Department of Drug Administration under the Ministry of Health and Population first.
Officials from the health department also cited the observations made by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) recently against Coronil where they had challenged Ramdev to prove its efficacy.
On June 23 last year, Baba Ramdev had introduced Ayurveda-based Coronil tablets at the peak of the pandemic in India.