A large number of unauthorised herbal clinics and dispensaries have been mushroomed in Rajshahi during the last one-decade.
Many of those herbal clinics were also allegedly advertising obscene advertisements through the social media and the local cable networks which were making the online progammes and the TV viewers irritating and annoyed, especially while they were watching those programmes with their family members. Often the children, after watching those advertisements were asking the elderly members of family to clarify certain scene or statement of the ads when the elderly members were experiencing an awkward situation and failing to answer their queries.
Though those obscene advertisements were being telecasting and showed through online programmes for a long time with the patronisation of local cable network operators, local administration remained indifferent in taking any action against them. Occasionally, the mobile court conducted drive against some of those herbal clinics and realising fines and awarding punishment against those but deceiving and cheating the simple minded people by those clinics is not being abated. By changing names, those clinics were starting their business once again.
According to concerned sources, in almost every busy crossings of the city, there are four to five of such herbal clinics which have no licences or any sort of permission from the drug and narcotics control authority. But, those herbal clinics were treating patients and selling medicine to them of various diseases including sexual diseases with warranty.
To motivate people to take treatment to their clinics, obscene advertisements were also being telecast through the cable and the online programmes. The language and scene of those advertisements are so objectionable and irritating that those cannot be watched with family members. Common people are also being cheated by those advertisments.
It is learnt, more than 100 herbal clinics and dispensaries have been set up in Rajshahi city and at the upazila levels. Some of such clinics including Kolkata Herbal, India Herbal, Modern Herbal were conducting their business of deceiving the patients. Even, in all nine upazilas of the district, those herbal clinics were operating through cable operators. Various hats and markets of the upazilas and the rural areas have been flooded with those herbal medicine as well.
According to sources, for various limitations, drug administration was failing to take action against those herbal clinics and practitioners.
Sources informed, most of the herbal drugs were being prepared with various herbs, creepers, fruits and chemicals.
Taking the reputation of good effects of herbs and Ayurvedic medicine, a section of Hekim and Kaviraj were malpracticing by endangering the lives of people. Moreover, many people were also preparing the adulterated drugs without procuring any licences.
Those malpractioners were learnt to add high powered steroid in various drugs, using Periktin in anti-obesity drug, using Selenda Citrate, Viagra and Senegra in drugs for increasing sex power and adding Salicyclic Acid in the cosmetic of becoming bright. It is also alleged that Wine and Opium are being used in preparing some herbal drugs.
While talking to this correspondent, Superintending of the department of Narcotics Control, Rajshahi, informed, the department regularly conducts operations against the adulterated drug makers and illegal operators of herbal clinics. But, due to shortages of manpower, the department was failing to take action against all dishonest drug makers and herbal operators.
