State move to buy Rs 2 cr worth Ayush drugs raises a stink

BHUBANESWAR: Even as Ayurvedic drugs worth over Rs 15 crore are gathering dust at different dispensaries and district stores, the Directorate of AYUSH has moved the State government to procure Covid drugs worth around Rs 2 crore for treatment of mild and moderate cases.The move for the procurement of two lakh Ayush-64 bottles at a time when the Covid-19 cases are declining has raised eyebrows. Ayurvedic practitioners are apprehensive about the distribution of the drugs as the dispensaries have been shut down following the deployment of AYUSH doctors in Covid duty since April.

Sources said different varieties of ayurvedic drugs, including Sudarshan ghanvati, Sanjivani bati, Laxmi vilas ras, Talisadi churna, Ashwagandha churna and triphala churna and anu taila, which have immunity boosting and anti-viral properties, were procured by the directorate under the National AYUSH Mission (NAM) in December 2019.While the drugs worth Rs 8.56 crore were left to rot at different dispensaries, the Directorate procured more drugs worth over Rs 7 crore under the same scheme in March this year. The drugs have also been dispatched to districts. 

Several other states, including Gujarat, Kerala, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have already adopted the traditional treatment and applied some of the drugs on Covid patients leading to good outcome but Odisha has failed. Ayurveda along with standard allopathic treatment has been found to be effective on Covid patients in Gujarat. “A study done recently by Gujarat government’s AYUSH department with the approval of an expert allopathic committee revealed that patients receiving Ayurvedic drugs along with allopathic treatment recovered faster. Their symptoms were relieved faster compared to those who received only allopathic medicines,” said former head of Panchakarma department of Farrukhabad-based Anar Singh Ayurveda Medical College Prof Santanu Das.

Former principal of Gopabandhu Ayurveda Mahavidyalaya Prof NC Dash suggested that the Odisha government can also adopt a similar approach. “There is no point in procuring drugs and leaving those to rot. All these drugs are well researched,” he said.  AYUSH Director Trilochan Majhi said Ayush 64 is being procured as per the direction of the AYUSH Ministry for the treatment of mild and moderate cases.  He, however, admitted that the drugs procured in 2019 are lying unutilised as dispensaries remained shut due to the pandemic. “The drugs have an expiry date of more than two years. Efforts will be made to distribute the medicines once the doctors are relieved from the Covid duty,” he said.