Tripura orders inquiry into purchase of shoddy drugs

Tripura government has ordered an inquiry into how two shoddy drugs were purchased under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and distributed to children and pregnant women, official sources said today.
The inferior quality drugs, folic acid and ferrous sulphate
tablets, were manufactured by an Indore-based pharmaceutical company and supplied by a Guwahati firm and distributed to the rural people.
State Health minister Tapan Chakraborty said all the Chief Medical Officers (CMO) of the state were sent urgent message to stop use of the two shoddy drugs when drug control authorities had confirmed the qualities of the drugs as inferior on December 5.

The drugs were being administered twice a week to the pregnant rural women under NRHM and school children of Anganwadi centres in the state.
Chakraborty said no one would be spared if found guilty in procuring the drugs which might have bad implications and added an administrative inquiry had been ordered on Tuesday.
The opposition Congress has taken serious exception to the incident and threatened to go to court for redress.
"Only this incident proves how callous is the state health department. There is every possibility of harmful effect of the drugs on pregnant women and children", said party spokesman Ashok Sinha, who himself is a doctor.