Umer Rashid
Shopian, 01 Sep (GNS): In a shocking incident from south Kashmir’s Shopian district, a 12-day-old infant was allegedly administered expired medicine, leaving the baby in distress and raising serious questions on the healthcare and drug monitoring system in Jammu and Kashmir.
The child’s parents said they had purchased the medicine on a doctor’s prescription from a nearby medical shop but failed to check the date printed on it. Unaware that the drug had expired, they gave it to their newborn, after which the baby’s eye pain grew worse. To their shock, when they returned to the same shop the next day for another pack, that too turned out to be expired.
“This is nothing but the sheer failure of the Drug Control Department,” the distraught parents said, adding that many chemists in Shopian are only chasing profits at the cost of people’s lives. “Our child had only a minor eye problem, but expired medicine made it worse. We don’t want any other parent to go through this horror,” they added.
Locals too expressed anger, alleging that the officials supposed to keep a check on such practices were missing from the ground. “Drug inspectors are nowhere to be seen. This negligence is pushing people’s lives at risk,” they said, demanding stern action against those responsible.
Meanwhile, in the wake of public outrage, authorities sealed the chemist’s shop and assured strict action against the culprits. (GNS)
