look news india
Bihar government makes big claims of providing free and complete treatment to the people of the state in government hospitals, but the ground reality seems to be completely different from these claims. From the district (Sadar) hospitals to the Additional Primary Health Centers (APHC) of the state, medicines of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Homeopathy and Unani systems) are completely missing for the last five months.
Due to this alleged negligence of the Health Department, the matter of purchase of medicines in about 13,098 government hospitals of the state is hanging in the balance, the direct consequences of which are being borne by the poor patients coming for treatment.
Tender stuck at BMSICL level
As per departmental rules, all medicines of AYUSH system of medicine are to be procured through ‘Bihar Medical Services and Infrastructure Corporation Limited’ (BMSICL). For this, last year in December 2025 itself, a letter was written to the corporation directing it to start the procurement process of medicines.
But even after five months have passed, the tender for the purchase of medicines has not been issued yet. According to sources, first there was a delay by the Health Department in providing the Essential Drug List (EDL), and later due to lack of decision regarding the tender at the corporation level, the entire process came to a standstill.
Doctors deployed, crores spent on salaries, but zero medicines
The Bihar government had appointed 2,901 AYUSH practitioners on a large scale in March last year to promote traditional medical systems in the state. At present 4,365 AYUSH doctors are posted in different hospitals of the state.
-
Budget Burden: Every month on the salary and establishment items of these doctors 2.5 crore rupees A huge amount of money is being spent.
-
Allopathy in compulsion: These doctors posted in Sadar Hospitals, Sub-Divisional Hospitals, Primary Health Centers (PHC) and Community Health Centers (CHC) are doing their duty regularly, but due to lack of AYUSH medicines in the hospital, they are forced to prescribe English (allopathic) medicines to the patients.
Increasing anger among patients, compulsion to buy from the market
Expressing his helplessness, an AYUSH doctor posted at Sadar Hospital in Kaimur said that non-availability of medicines in the hospital has become his biggest compulsion. Poor patients coming from rural areas rely heavily on AYUSH (especially Ayurveda and Homeopathy) medicines.
When doctors advise them to buy medicines from the outside market, saying that they are not available in the hospital, many patients get enraged and become intent on creating ruckus in the hospitals. Patients who are financially weak are unable to buy expensive medicines from the market and are forced to return home in despair without treatment.
This system has not only hurt the safety and confidence of patients, but has also raised serious question marks on the government’s promise of ‘free medicine and complete treatment’.
