Sans critical drugs, Jan Aushadhi a failure

Vikram Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, November 22

The much publicised project of Jan Aushadhi stores, aimed at providing cheaper, generic medicines to people, has turned out to be a failure across all three regions of the state.

It is an initiative of the Union Government with the support of the state government under a memorandum of understanding with the Bureau of Pharma Public Sector Undertakings of India (BPPI), Health Department. However, since its launch on December 22, 2014, it has been a failure as not even a single life-saving drug is available in these stores.

The state government opened 20 Jan Aushadhi stores — five in Jammu district, seven in Kashmir and two in Ladakh — but none of them has been provided with an ample supply of generic drugs.

“I opened this outlet with a vision of doing something meaningful by selling medicines to fight cancer, cardiovascular diseases etc at cheaper rates. Despite many requests and reminders to the Bureau of Pharma Public Sector Undertakings of India for a regular supply of such medicines, the problem was never addressed,” said Ajaz Jan, proprietor of a Jan Aushadhi store near Gousia Hospital at Khanyar, Srinagar.

Jan added that doctors and medical practitioners could not blamed for the non-prescription of generic medicines to patients. “When a patient does not get the required medicine, the doctor is left with no option but to revert to prescribing old, branded medicine,” said Jan.

Sangita Chouhan, Executive, Pradhan Mantri Janaushadhi Kendra (PMBJK), Jammu and Kashmir, was not available for comment.

“How can we prescribe a generic salt to a patient with an acute ailment which is not available at Jan Aushadhi store. We have to prescribe a medicine that is easily available in the market. Ironically, the Union Government has launched a number of schemes in the health sector, but none of them are properly functional. A patient cannot wait for a generic medicine which he requires immediately for an acute ailment,” said a private medical practitioner at Kachi Chawni.

As per the rate list guidelines of Jan Aushadhi outlets, “all drugs under their generic names and pure salts are available to the patients at one-fourth of the cost of the medicine sold under branded name in the market”.

Store proprietors concerned 

Ajaz Jan, proprietor of a Jan Aushadhi store at Khanyar, Srinagar, said doctors and medical practitioners could not blamed for the non-prescription of generic medicines to patients. “When a patient does not get the required medicine, the doctor is left with no option but to revert to prescribing old, branded medicine.”