NAGPUR: On the one hand the Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s health department is taking action against fake doctors practising medicine across city limits while on the other it is turning a blind eye to illegal ayurvedic clinics flourishing on roadsides.
A canvas tents with notice board displaying index of diseases and a recorded voice with magical claim to cure all ailments like blood pressure, diabetes, thyroid, arthritis and others. Team TOI gave a close look to the signboard which read ‘Himalay Ayurvedic Davakhana’. At most of the places, they called themselves as vaidya, a title doctors get only after doing Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery ((BAMS) and on registration with Council Of Indian Medicine. Such ayurvedic vaidyas are seen along many streets across the city.
Until recently, these clinics were a common sight at the outskirts, but with no action from NMC’s health department, they have started putting up tents in prominent areas. In fact, their number has gone up in the recent past.
At Mangalwari zone, there are at least six such vaidyas doing business by setting up tents even in posh Seminary Hills area (behind Raj Bhavan, near Katol Road Square, State CID office and on the patch between Nelson Square and Mankapur Square.
Sources said these ‘illegal’ ayurvedic clinics can are also spotted on Kamptee Road, Bhandara Road and on ring roads.
“To lure patients, they say that they do not depend on any costly medical tests for diagnosing ailments. They do not ask for any X-ray, ultra sound, CT scan, urine or blood tests. Rather, they claim that they can identify the disease by checking the pulse of patients,” said members of Indian Medical Association.
Another factor that lures people to these clinics is the common conception that ayurvedic medicines have no side effects, said Indian Medical Association’s Nagpur chapter president Dr Sanjay Deshpande. But hardly anybody knows what they are serving in the name of ayurveda. “In some cases it was found that these vaidus use steroids in their preparations. These steroids immediately give a feeling of well-being to the users. Hence, after using these preparations even a skeptical visitor to these clinics feels convinced about the effectiveness of these medicines,” he pointed out.
Besides, they also use heavy metals in their medicines for particular treatments which damage the functions of kidney, Dr Desphande said.
But gullible patients, who fall prey to them, do not understand that the drugs used in these preparations may play havoc with their health and even result in irreparable damage to body. Municipal commissioner Shyam Wardhane has assured to look into the matter.
Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
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