“It is the day when killers will land in Kashmir. We will observe it as a black day for brutal and barbaric people are coming back.”
Mujtaba Wani
SRINAGAR: The Medical Employees Joint Action Committee (MEJAC) – an amalgam of various doctors’ associations and pharmacists – has called for a general strike on May 6 against the spurious drugs scam in the valley.
It has also called for a strike in hospitals of the valley, but emergency services have been exempted.
On the same day, the civil secretariat will open in Srinagar, summer capital of the state, as the seat of government shifts from Jammu as part of the biannual Durbar Move.
Addressing a press conference this afternoon, MEJAC chairman Dr Nissar ul Hassan said “the shutdown will send a clear message to the government that things like these (sale of spurious drugs) is unacceptable.
“It is the day when killers will land in Kashmir. We will observe it as a black day for brutal and barbaric people are coming back,” he said. “I appeal to shopkeepers, transporters, schools and colleges to observe a complete shutdown to protest against this scandal.”
Lawyers of the Bar Association of Kashmir have supported the shutdown call.
Selling Death
Lab tests found that an antibiotic tablet – Maximizen-625 – supposed to contain 500 mg of Amoxicillin had zero percent of it. These antibiotics, used to ‘cure’ bacterial infection, were supplied in tens of thousands to Kashmir hospitals including the Lal Ded maternity hospital.
The scandal has caused concern in the valley. Dr Hasan said the fake drugs may have caused hundreds of deaths in the valley last year.
The MEJAC has also criticised the chief minister Omar Abdullah for maintaining what they called “mysterious silence”. “Chief Minister is fond of tweeting on minor issues, but he has not uttered a single word over this huge scandal,” Dr Asif Mehraj, spokesperson of the forum, said.
Earlier on April 20, Kashmir valley observed a shutdown over a call by octogenarian separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
Separatist leaders and civil society members have demanded that a criminal complaint be lodged against Sham Lal Sharma, the state’s former health minister during whose tenure the fake drugs were purchased.
Sharma has, however, denied involvement in the scam saying he had no role in purchasing the fake medicine.
The authorities have formed a high-level committee to probe into the scandal. Three people -owners of a Jammu-based company who supplied the counterfeit drugs- have already been arrested in this regard.
Also a non-bailable warrant has been issued against fifteen people including owners of two Himachal and Maharashtra based companies. The drugs bore their brand name.
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