“Senior political leaders, activists, and locals demand investigation from higher-ups.”
Tauseef Ahmad
Bandipora, Aug 16:- After bundles of expensive medicines, including Linezolid and Paracetamol infusions, were found burned along the Bandipora-Sopore road in north Kashmir, locals raised questions about who removed the remaining drugs after the media report, as authorities disowned it. Locals demand a probe.
After the Kashmir Despatch report, in the night hours, unknown persons removed the remaining medicines, adding further mystery to the situation.
Authorities initially denied any responsibility, with local medical officers asserting that they had not received such a supply since 2020.
An eyewitness, Abdul Rasheed, who spoke to Kashmir Despatch earlier, said that after the media reports, unknown persons removed the remaining medicines in the night hours.
“We were shocked to see these medicines were removed. If the health department disowns it, then who removed it? No one from any other district can usually travel that distance to throw it here or remove it in the night hours,” he lamented.
Another local resident, Abdul Rehaman, said that throwing these medicines in front of school gates can lead to serious diseases in schoolgoing children. “It was routine that some bottles of infusion are dumped here. They are now aware that people will raise their voices, but who will take the responsibility of the medicines burned and removed from the spot?”
The local community, shocked by this waste of valuable medical supplies, expressed anger and confusion as they struggled to access basic healthcare in the district.
Residents questioned why these medicines were not distributed among the population or had not been destroyed properly. The loss of these medicines, many of which are lifesaving, has raised concerns about possible negligence or malfeasance within the supply chain.
Meanwhile, Former MLA National Conference Bandipora, Gh Rasool Naaz, told Kashmir Despatch that most of the people in far-flung areas of Bandipora are struggling to get a single tablet from hospitals.
“By burning and destroying it in front of the school, it can affect the health of the students,” he said.
He appealed to LG Manoj Sinha and the Director of Health Services Kashmir to investigate it and take action against those found involved.
However, officials from the Drug Ware Store Baramulla of the Jammu and Kashmir Medical Supplies Corporation Limited (JKMSCL) contradicted these claims, told Kashmir Despatch that 200 units from this batch found on the roadside were given to Bandipora health authorities in 2021.
“These medicines have been usually supplied to higher institutions or Government Medical colleges from the JKMSCL, as Bandipora did not have any GMC. They may have been given to the District stores,” he said.
Earlier, the Director of Health Services Kashmir, in a reply to the Kashmir Despatch’s report, stated that no such drugs had been supplied to the Bandipora block since 2020.
Reliable sources from the District Hospital Bandipora said that the DH Bandipora received 100, 50, and 50 packets of Linezolid infusion in July, November 2020, and January 2021 from the district store.
Sources also added that the medicines found on the roadside had a manufacturing date of February 2021. “No medicine has been supplied to DH Bandipora after January 2021,” he added.
However, this question remains unanswered: Who had received this supply from JKMSCL in 2021 if not the District Medical Store Bandipora, if JKMSCL claimed to have supplied it to Bandipora, and why it has not been consumed.
Earlier this year, in February, Ayush medicines worth lakhs were found dumped at a treatment plant in Malaysia Bagh area of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal.
A group of residents from the area who hailed the efforts of the government of India said that they are thankful to the government for sending these precious medicines for the poor people of the Kashmir valley.
“The government in recent years has launched several schemes for the benefit of poor people. Under the Golden card, poor people received quality treatment without spending a coin,” he added.
