हिंदी
Under Captain government’s rule, trade of fake drugs rampant in state amid Covid pandemic: Sarvjit Kaur Manuke
Invoke Drug Price Control order on all Covid related drugs
Chandigarh, May 7, 2021
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA and deputy leader of opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Sarvjit Kaur Manuke on Friday said that under the Captain Amarinder Singh-led government’s rule, the trade of fake drugs was rampant in the state amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Manuke said that fake vials of Remdesivir, used in the treatment of Covid, besides Cefoperazone injections were found dumped in the Bhakra canal near Morinda in Rupnagar, which were suspected as fake. She said that the AAP had already highlighted that the miscreants had been selling fake drugs at ten times the original price in the state.
Manuke said that according to the police as the wrappers allegedly read, ‘for government supply, not for sale’, with markings bearing manufacturer’s address in Himachal Pradesh; it directs towards an inter-state mafia. “It is an emergence of a new ‘mafia’ and there is no check on the misuse of medicines and vaccines,” she added. She said that not just with high prices of drugs, people were being looted through the sale of fake medicines at a time when the country is under a national emergency. Manuke said that the state governments of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh must investigate the depths of the issue and other illegal activities happening over the Covid-19 related drugs.
The AAP leader said that the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) had set M.R.P of Remdesivir, but several other drugs prescribed for treatment of Covid-19 patients like Favipiravir, Tociluzumab, and others were being priced at exorbitant rates. She said that there were multiple reports from different parts of the country where Remdesivir vials were being sold for over Rs 30,000 while the price fixed by the governments was far lower. “The centre government must use its powers to invoke ‘Drugs Price Control Order’ to fix a ceiling price for drugs in extraordinary circumstances,” she added.
Manuke said that while the hospitals were facing a shortage of Covid related drugs and the people were being harassed; the miscreants on the other hand were able to supply the same for ten times the original price. She said that the recent cases of black marketing revealed that the drugs were getting smuggled from the hospitals and producers and as it was required by critical patients; the victims were asked to pay a preposterous amount of money. She appealed to the Chief Minister to take up the matter with the concerned authorities to zero in on the miscreants involved in this illegal practice and immediately take stern action against them.
