Consumers of ayurvedic, yoga, unani, siddha and homoeopathy (Ayush) medicines should not worry about genuineness of the drugs, as the government has decided to set up a laboratory to test the same.

The seizure of fake herbal drugs from different places in June and March this year has prompted the government to set up the state’s first such unit.

Many people in the state have to depend on these herbal drugs but without knowing whether these medicines are authentic or not.

The new lab would come up in the building of the Government Ayurvedic College at Agamkuan.

Hemant Kumar Sinha, the state drug controller, said: “We have received a fund of Rs 1.5 crore from the Union government for construction of an Ayush laboratory. The lab is expected to start operations before the next financial year.”

Sharing more details of the laboratory, Sinha said: “The place, where the lab would come up, has been finalised. We have decided to develop the laboratory in the building of the Government Ayurvedic College, Agamkuan. Another floor would be added to the existing two-storeyed structure. Officials of the Bihar Medical Services and Infrastructure Development Corporation visited the college last week, as the corporation has been entrusted with the job of developing the laboratory.”

On the need of an Ayush laboratory in the state, he said: “The state needs the lab, as people take ayurvedic, yoga, unani, siddha and homoeopathy medicines without knowing whether these drugs are authentic or not. There is no system in place to check the genuineness of these pills.”

Sinha added: “We found sub-standard and fake herbal medicines from Madhubani during a raid on a factory in March. On June 5, we found 30 cartons of suspected fake drugs of a reputed firm from a cart near Gandhi Maidan.”