Nepal, March 16 -- Over the past eight months, the Department of Drug Administration Nepalgunj Branch has suspended 16 pharmacies-11 in Banke and five in Kailali-for regulatory violations.

According to Information Officer Deepa Paudel, the suspensions took place between mid-July and mid-March of fiscal year 2025/26. The inspections revealed issues such as the absence of business owners during monitoring, operation without registration, and expired medicines, leading to the suspension of these establishments.

Following the inspections, 14 cases have been filed in court. Pharmacy Supervisor Inspector Dinesh Raj Neupane stated that the legal actions relate to running unregistered pharmacies, selling medicines without authorization, illegal...