The District Hospital in Darchula has been facing an acute shortage of emergency medicines due to the prolonged Tarai banda and India’s unofficial blockade.

Hospital chief Dr Amit Rauniyar said the stock of paracetamols has also finished in their store. “We are facing difficulty running hospital due to the shortage of medicines,” he said, adding that the crisis has affected almost all health institutions in the district.

Due to the shortage, patients are compelled to go to Dharchula in India for treatment. They are also compelled to pay exorbitant price for medicines in the Indian market. Bhramadev Health Post In-charge Prem Singh Dhami said patients from rural areas are hit hardest.

Padamraj Joshi, storekeeper at the District Hospital, said medicines have not been supplied to the district on the pretext of Tarai protest and Indian blockade.

Meanwhile, patients in Parbat district have also been compelled to purchase even those medicines which health institutions distribute free

of cost to people across the country.

Ramraj Sharma, storekeeper at Parbat District Hospital, said they are facing difficulties running the health facilities for over a month due to the shortage of medicines caused by Tarai protests and India’s unofficial blockade.

Shankarpokhari Health Post In-charge Umakant Sapkota said medicines for fever and asthma are in short supply at the health facility. Patients, especially those suffering from common cold, diarrhea and other minor diseases, are deprived of medicines. Last year, the government had decided to distribute 70 types of medicines from district hospitals to people free of cost. “We did not have 7o types of medicines in our store even during the normal period,” Sharma said.

Hospital officials said they could not import medicines due to the ongoing political crisis in the country. However, Public Health Officer Bhawani Prasad Sharma said that there’s no shortage of medicines in the district. “Some medicines are in short supply and we have invited tenders for supplying them,” he said.