Kashmir shuts down over spurious drugs issue

Life in Srinagar and other parts of the Kashmir Valley was affected Monday by a shutdown against the alleged spurious drugs scam called by the local doctors' association.

The scam has been hogging headlines in local newspapers for over a month.

Shops, other businesses, public transport and educational institutions remained closed in Srinagar city because of the shutdown, while private transport and skeletal public transport operated in some areas Monday.

Taxis and other vehicles carrying passengers to various destinations of tourist interest like Sonamarg, Gulmarg, Pahalgam and other places plied normally throughout the Valley, as also the traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu highway.

The state government has already asked the crime branch to probe the scam, which came to be an issue of great concern when it was found that antibiotic tablets purchased by a government-appointed purchase committee failed to meet prescribed standards when subjected to chemical analysis.

The state vigilance commission has also been asked to probe the assets of the members of the government-appointed purchase committee involved in the alleged scam.