Sailabala Das, 60, of Ballygunge, was suffering from knee pain for the past few years. Sanjit Baran Biswas, 65, of Sarat Ghosh Garden Road had back pain for a long time and medicines had no effect.

Thanks to acupuncture therapy, both have been relieved of pain. The therapy is becoming increasingly popular among patients suffering from arthritis, stress, chronic tonsillitis, trauma, sports injuries, gangrene sciatica, cervical spondylitis, pain and stiffness of elbow, bronchial asthma and other diseases.

?A growing number of patients are reaping the benefits of this therapy,? said Mrigendranath Gantait, director of BK Basu Memorial Research and Training Institute of Acupuncture.

Located on Prince Anwar Shah Road, this is one of the three institutes in the city where patients are treated by acupuncture therapy, the other two being at Sambhu Nath Pandit Hospital and NRS Medical College and Hospital.

According to state health department officers, 22 posts of acupuncturist physicians have been created across the state. ?There were six physicians in the city, but now the therapy is gaining popularity in the suburbs and remote areas too,? an officer said.

At BK Basu Memorial Institute, the authorities said more than 50 patients get treated every day. Patients from every economic background ? actors, bureaucrats, business people, executives ? are queuing up at the clinic to for the therapy.