As the second wave of coronavirus is wreaking havoc in India, the Andhra Pradesh state government has decided to send a traditional medicine formula made with Ayurvedic ingredients to the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) to test its efficacy. The AP government took this decision after 10,000 people gathered at Krishnapatnam to buy this miraculous cure for Covid, developed by a traditional medical practitioner named B Anandaiah.
Ecstatic villagers violated Covid restrictions
The medicine is popularly known as Krishnapatnam medicine and hearing the efficiency of this traditional cure, thousands of people marched to the region, creating a virtual stampede. Even though Anandaiah started distributing his medicine on April 21, people have started flocking to Krishnapatnam only recently.
Apart from requesting the ICMR to conduct an efficacy test of this medicine, the government has also decided to send a team of experts to Krishnapatnam for an on-the-spot study of the formulation. The government also requested the Indian Council of Medical Research Director Balram Bhargava to come out with a quick report on the effectiveness of the medicine.
A couple of days back, a team of Ayurvedic doctors from the Ayush department had visited Krishnapatnam. In a report submitted to the government, the Ayurvedic doctors urged to study more about the preparation, treatment procedure, and after-effects of this traditional medicine in a scientific manner.
Allopathic practitioners oppose the move
In the meantime, allopathic practitioners have come forward and have opposed the AP government's recent move to test the efficacy of this traditional Covid medicine. Calling it a suicidal move, several allopathic doctors have already issued a warning stating that these moves from the government could worsen the Covid situation in the nation.
PV Ramesh, a doctor-turned-bureaucrat who previously worked as principal secretary (health) warned that the Krishnapatnam medicine for coronavirus could act as yet another recipe for disaster. Calling it an epidemic of superstitions, Ramesh made it clear that preparing and promoting Krishnapatnam traditional medicine is punishable under the Pharmacy Act, 1948, and Drugs and Magic Remedies Act 1954.
