2000 chemist shops running without licenses, probe shelved
At the time when Jammu and Kashmir is grasping under the political uncertainty, the wide sale of spurious drugs is taking toll with helmsmen turning blind eye towards such a grave issue. The recent reports coming to fore made a shocking revelations- depicting how non- seriously the issue of spurious and sub-standard drugs has been taken by the authorities. Reports informed that an anti-diabetic drug, Blisto-4MF besides several others have been found sub-standard by the clinical reports but their sale and usage continues unabated in Jammu and Kashmir. Though people have expressed their resentment against such issues time and again but action against the involved continues to remain an elusive entity.
Furthermore, an anti-biotic medicine namely metronidazole was declared as substandard by the testing laboratories. Despite the fact that its sale was abandoned in the state, there had been no action taken against its manufacturers The medicos and the civil society of Jammu and Kashmir while raising an antenna against the wide sale of the spurious drugs had claimed more than 2, 65000 Maximizin tablets were issued by various government hospitals to patients across the state, out of which 2, 30, 000 were consumed. Reports informed that there has been no investigation of the fact that whether such drugs consumed by the people in the government run hospitals where duly checked.
The complaints are also mounting over the large scale of drug licences being given to people who run the chemist shops with several among them found involved in the sale of substandard drugs. Also, there has been no action taken by the health department of the state over ascertaining the qualification of the chemist to whom the drug license is accorded sans any scrutiny. Sources privy to this development said that around 1900 chemist shops are functioning with the expired license and there has been no effort by the health department to put lid over such crises.
The complaints are also mounting over the large scale of drug licences being given to people who run the chemist shops with several among them found involved in the sale of sub-standard drugs.
The civil society while asking the governor to take action at an earliest against the sale of sub-standard drugs in the state also accuse that some officials in the state government have developed a nexus with the chemists who are involved in the sale of spurious drugs without any remorse or fear of any action. What should be taken as more seriously is the = mortality rate in the state hospitals which are indicating an upward trend. Experts say that it is due to the wide consumption of the sub-standard drugs which is responsible for an increase in the death rate in the state. Reports have came to fore that more than 900 people within the period of 24 hours of have died in Children’s hospital BadamiBagh here. Kashmir’s major hospital SKIMS recorded death of 800 patients,24 hours after they were admitted.
An official while pleading anonymity said that though the issue came to lime light at several occasions but merely cosmetic exercises were done and no serious action was initiated against those involved. “JK has become a hot bed of sub-standard drugs. There are chemist shops running without licenses. There are no action against the erring officials who were caught red handed involved in the spurious drug scam. What is needed is an immediate action and long term strategy so that precious lives could be saved,” the official said.
