Coimbatore Medical College Hospital is changing paper packaging for medicines with instructions in Hindi
The medicine pack was reportedly issued at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital with instructions in Tamil, English and Hindi. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
Management at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) on Tuesday replaced the brown paper containers used to dispense medicines to patients with fresh ones after instructions printed in Hindi on the former sparked a row, with many criticizing it as being against Tamil Nadu’s bilingual policy.
DMK leader and former Industries Minister TRB Raja was among those who criticized the inclusion of Hindi instructions on the packaging.
“Seems the tri-language policy is being implemented in Tamil Nadu hospitals too! First Karur… Now same situation in Coimbatore too,” he wrote on X along with a photo of a pharmacy cover purportedly issued by CMCH, with instructions in Tamil, English and Hindi. He had earlier disclosed that similar envelopes with instructions in three languages were being used in Karur.
A senior official from CMCH said that the covers with instructions in three languages were printed and supplied by the Chinthamani cooperative society and no one reported any problem with the instructions in Hindi.
“We replaced these covers with new ones on Tuesday evening,” the official said, adding that such covers have been in use for a long time.
A source from the pharmacy section of the hospital claimed that similar covers with instructions in three languages were also used under the previous regime. Meanwhile, pharmacists have been instructed not to use covers with instructions in three languages and use new ones containing Tamil and English.
According to CMCH authorities, the hospital handles about 3,000 to 4,500 outpatients daily and a large number of migrant workers working in the city and nearby areas seek treatment at the hospital.
Published – 06 Oct 2026 22:28 IST