Kathmandu Valley has been facing shortage of cetamol, an important medicine for seasonal ailments, at present.

Prof Dr Jagadish Prasad Agrawal searched the medicine in many stores but to no avail. Instead he bought another medicine.

CPN-UML lawmaker Shanta Chaudhary also did not find the cetamol, which is used to relieve pain and reduce fever. She had taken to social media on Thursday to express her dissatisfaction.

Consumers claimed that the collusion between drug manufacturers and traders has created artificial shortage of cetamol in the wake of the coronavirus fear.

“The traders have been creating artificial shortages of paracetamol in the country to earn money from black marketing, taking advantage of the precarious situation,” Bishnu Timilsina, Deputy General Secretary of the Forum for Protection of Consumer Rights Nepal said.

Chairman of the Association of Pharmaceutical Producers of Nepal Prajwal Jung Pandey,however, said that the pharmaceutical industries have been producing paracetamol.

“Around 20-22 industries are producing paracetamol. We have been sending paracetamol in the market on a daily basis,” he said.

Mrigendra Meher Shrestha, the president of Nepal Chemists and Druggists Association, said there was no shortage of cetamol a week ago.

“The Covid-19 cases increased drastically in the past few days,” Sherstha said , adding, “Consumers bought more than they needed and the demand increased in the market.”

The government has not made public the number of people infected from the Omicron variant of coronavirus separately. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, the number of Covid-19 cases has increased dramatically because of the Omicron.