UP Health dept raids spurious medicine manufacturing units

Lucknow, July 20 (UNI) The state Health department, along with state police today carried out state-wide raids at units manufacturing spurious medicines.

The raids were carried out mainly in Western UP following reports of illegal units producing spurious medicines, mainly cough syrups.

While most of the raids concentrated in Meerut and Moradabad districts, some shops in Aminabad market, New Medicine Market and a few other places in the state capital were also raided. ''The exact number of medicines will be known after the health department files FIRs,'' a state Home department official said here. The health officials also collected sample of medicines from some shops for further verification.

A private new channel had yesterday shown illegal units manufacturing spurious cough syrups of well-known brands.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mayawati blamed the previous Mulayam Singh Yadav led Samajwadi Party government for the current state of affairs. ''They are responsible for it...more cleansing will take place in the time to come,'' she said to a poser on the state-wide raids.

Daily, hundreds of people are duped into buying spurious medicines. Masterminds of the racket are based mostly in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, officials claimed.

According to industry estimates, one out of every five strips sold is fake. In the last five years the number of spurious drugs in the market has increased from ten per cent to 20 per cent of all drugs sold.

Tetracycline, B Complex drugs, malaria and tuberculosis medicine figure high on the list of spurious drugs.

UNI