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Cold conditions tightened its grip on Kashmir on Wednesday as Srinagar experienced the coldest night of the season at minus 3.9 degrees Celsius, while the mercury settled below the freezing point at most places in the Valley, officials said on Wednesday. The night temperature in Srinagar was 4 degrees below the normal for the season, officials at the local meteorological department said. Konibal in south Kashmir's Pulwama district was the coldest recorded place in the Valley at minus 5.5 degrees Celsius. The Pahalgam tourist resort recorded a low of minus 4.6 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature in Gulmarg settled at zero degree Celsius, the officials said. Qazigund, the gateway town to the Valley, recorded minus 3.4 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara in north Kashmir settled for a low of minus 4 degrees Celsius. The MeT department has forecast mainly dry weather across Kashmir till December 2, with a possibility of a further fall in the night temperature.
The investigation against the Kanchipuram-based manufacturer of Coldrif cough syrup, linked to the deaths of children in Madhya Pradesh, has brought to light lapses by the Tamil Nadu Food and Drug Administration in enforcing basic regulatory norms, CDSCO sources said. Licensed in 2011 by the Tamil Nadu Food and Drug Administration (TNFDA), Sresan Pharma continued operations unchecked for over a decade despite its dismal infrastructure and multiple violations of national drug safety rules, they said. A recent inspection by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) exposed the unit's appalling conditions and total non-compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), the sources said. "The CDSCO has not been involved in any of the audits at Sresan Pharma. Since the CDSCO was not involved and the state FDA did not inform the CDSCO about this company in any way, this company was not part of any of the CDSCO databases," a source said. TNFDA officials could not be reached
Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla on Tuesday said a total of 20 children from the state have died so far while undergoing treatment for kidney failure after drinking a contaminated cough syrup. He said five children are currently being treated in Nagpur - two each in Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and one in a private hospital. Earlier, the state government had confirmed the deaths of 16 children from Chhindwara who had allegedly consumed cough syrup Coldrif, samples of which were found to have toxic contents. Talking to reporters here after visiting the children undergoing treatment, Shukla said, "So far, 20 children from Madhya Pradesh have died while undergoing treatment...Two of them died in the past 24 hours." Describing the fatalities as extremely tragic, he said the MP government will extend all possible help to the affected families. The syrup responsible for the deaths was manufactured by
The Karnataka government has directed all enforcement officers to maintain strict vigil over certain cough syrups following reports of child deaths linked to their consumption in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. In a circular dated October 5, the Food Safety and Drugs Administration (FSDA) said that in view of recent incidents where deaths have been reported in Madhya Pradesh following the consumption of Coldrif Syrup (Batch No. SR-13), manufactured by a Tamil Nadu-based pharma unit, the Tamil Nadu Drugs Control Department has prohibited the purchase, sale and consumption of the said batch in that state. Further, a few deaths of children have been reported in Rajasthan due to the consumption of Dextromethorphan Hydrobromide Syrup IP, manufactured by Kaysons Pharma, Jaipur, it stated. "All enforcement officers in the state of Karnataka are hereby instructed to keep a strict vigil on the above drugs/batch number and similar combinations from manufacturers. Any stockist, distributor, ...
The Tamil Nadu government has banned the sale of cough syrup 'Coldrif' and ordered its removal from the market following suspicions linking it to the death of 11 children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. With effect from October 1, the sale of the cough syrup manufactured by the city-based firm, has been prohibited across Tamil Nadu, an official of the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department said. Inspections were conducted at the pharmaceutical company's manufacturing facility in Sunguvarchathram in neighbouring Kancheepuram district during the last two days and samples have been collected, he said. The company, he said, supplies the medicines to Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry. The samples would be sent to the government run laboratories to test for the presence of the chemical 'Diethylene Glycol', he told PTI. Taking cognisance of the infant deaths, the Union Health Ministry on Friday issued an advisory to all States and Union Territories, directing that cough and