Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 13: To ensure that quality drugs are made available to the public at affordable rates, Drugs & Food Control Organization carried out surprise checks of drug sales establishments (retail/wholesale) under the supervision of respective Assistant Drugs Controller in Jammu Province under the overall supervision of Lotika Khajuria, State Drugs Controller.
During the drive, operations of 26 sale establishments were disallowed on the spot under Section 22 (d) of Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940. These establishments included six in Jammu, four in Doda, 3 each in R S Pura, Ramban and Rajouri, 2 each in Samba, Kishtwar and Kathua districts and 1 in Poonch district for violation of conditions of the licenses. The license holders were warned of severe action in case the deficiencies are not removed within stipulated period of time.
In addition to this, statutory drug samples of more than 150 drug formulations viz. Antibiotics, PPI, Steroid, NSAIDs etc, were lifted from public institutions and private firms particularly situated in far flung areas and Government institutions for determination of strength and purity. These samples were referred to Drug Testing laboratories located within and outside J&K for framing legal opinion to ascertain their quality parameters.
Moreover, the department has broadened its scope in the other fields and initiated a special exercise wherein statutory samples of cosmetics and medical devices were also lifted and dispatched to the notified laboratories outside the UT to ensure their quality parameters.
Stocks of drugs worth Rs 10,672 that were found to be contravening the provisions of Drugs & Cosmetics Act were also confiscated from the supply chain by the Regulatory Officers of the Organization under the relevant provisions of the Drugs & Cosmetics Act. Besides this, one court case that was under trial before the Court of CJM Reasi was decided and the accused was fined a sum of Rs 10,000 and imprisonment till rising of court.
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