Department of Drug Administration under the Ministry of Health and Population will soon carry out field inspection of drug stores and pharmacies in major four cities Kathmandu, Pokhara, Nepalgunj and Biratnagar in the first phase.The department will update the number of clinics, pharmacies and drug stores.The date of manufacture and expiry, price and place of storage of drugs, among others, would be checked during the inspection. It is believed that a large number of clinics are running illegally without registering themselves with the concerned offices.Health Minister Gagan Thapa today visited the department at Bijuli Bazaar and directed the officials to carry out the inspection of all drug stores, including Ayurvedic clinics, and said that the current Drug Act would be amended to facilitate monitoring of drug stores.He directed the DoI officials to continue inspection as a campaign.

Director General of the DoI Narayan Dhakal told Minister Thapa that the department had failed make field inspection visits due to shortage of manpower.He, however, assured the minister that the department would do its best to check anomalies in the drug market.A version of this article appears in print on October 18, 2016 of The Himalayan Times.