Ludhiana, July 19 -- A medicine shortage continues to plague government ayurvedic dispensaries in Ludhiana for the second consecutive year, leaving thousands of patients without access to free healthcare. Across the district's 64 government ayurvedic health institutions, including the Government Ayurvedic Hospital at Model Gram, patients continue to return with prescriptions instead of medicines. At the same time, the department battles both procurement delays and a severe manpower shortage. The shortage first surfaced in 2025 and remains unresolved despite repeated assurances from the department. With fresh supplies still at least two months away, patients say they have been forced to pay for medicines from private pharmacies or to discontinue treatment altogether. Dr Raman Khanna, district ayurveda and Unani officer, who is also holding the additional charge of director ayurveda, Punjab, said the department had floated a tender for procurement of medicines in August 2025, but it had to be cancelled due to technical reasons. "A fresh tender was floated in March this year, and the supply order was issued on July 2. Around 26 categories of ayurvedic medicines have been approved, and the supplies are expected to reach Ludhiana within the next two months," Khanna said. Asked how dispensaries had been functioning without medicines for nearly a year, Khanna said NGOs had stepped in to bridge the gap....