My Opinion

The death toll in the toxic cough syrup case has risen to 18, with most of the kids dying in Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring Rajasthan. Two toddlers died in Nagpur on Tuesday after kidney failure.
The state governments in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, MP, UP and Maharashtra have banned sale of the toxic Coldrif cough syrup. Tamil Nadu government has sealed the Coldrif cough syrup manufacturing unit in Kancheepuram.
India TV correspondent T. Raghavan reported that the cough syrup was being made inside a dingy building in filthy conditions, infested with flies, mosquitoes and rats.
It was when toddlers started dying in Chhindwara of Madhya Pradesh that the Tamil Nadu drug authorities woke up and an inspection of the unit was carried out. Lab tests showed that the Coldrif cough syrup contained 48.6 per cent diethylene glycol. It is an industrial chemical, which if taken by human beings, can cause acute renal failure.
Two more cough syrups Re-life and Respi-Fresh TR, made in Gujarat, have been found to contain 136 times more diethylene glycol than is required. Both these syrups are being withdrawn from market.
I spoke to several pharma experts and asked why this adulteration was going on when the required amount was only 0.01 per cent. The experts said, propylene glycol is used as a solvent for cough medicines, but since it is of pharma grade and is costly, some companies buy cheap chemical from market which is contaminated. Diethylene glycol is also used as a solvent but in industries and it is toxic. It is used to make brake fluid, paint and plastic products.
Union health secretary held a meeting with state health secretaries and directed that drug rules be enforced strictly, medicine sampling system be improved and if any medicine is found to fail tests, stringent action be taken against the manufacturers. Drug controllers have been asked to carry out raids in several states to seize such drugs.
Watching the grieving parents of toddlers who died after taking Coldrif cough syrup is unnerving. One parent said, her baby could not drink a single drop of water after taking this cough syrup. To save the ailing kid, its father took Rs 4 lakh loan after mortgaging his land, but his efforts became futile. One parent sold his autorickshaw to save his kid.
There are several such cases which are truly heart rending. It is a fact that the company was making this toxic cough syrup in filthy conditions infested by flies and mosquitoes. Those responsible for this act must be punished stringently. This game of negligence and greed must end.

Sabarimala gold theft : Arrest the culprits

Reports have come about nearly 4.5 kg of gold missing from the world famous Sabarimala Ayappa temple in Kerala. Costly gold plated statues of the temple were sent to Chennai for gold polishing and in the process, gold was stolen and gold was replaced with copper.
The matter came to light when the Kerala High Court directed all details about the Sabarimala temple assets be submitted. Under retired Justice K.T.Sankaran’s supervision, all the valuable were checked and 4.5 kg of gold was found missing from the Dwarapalaka statues.
The Devaswom Board knew about it but no action was taken. The gold polishing work was entrusted to one Unnikrishnan Potti. The High Court reprimanded the LDF government in Kerala and set up a special investigation team.
There were protests in Thiruvananthapuram and the UDF MLAs led by the Congress raised a furore in the assembly. Leader of Opposition V.D.Satheesan alleged that some ministers and bureaucrats were involved in the gold theft and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s government is trying to shield them.
The state government has suspended B. Murari Babu, deputy commissioner, who was the administrative officer of Sabarimala temple in 2019. BJP has demanded that the probe be entrusted to a central agency.
The moot point is: Had the High Court not taken suo motu action, the theft of gold would not have come to light. The most interesting part of this controversy is that the man who is facing the allegation of gold theft, had himelf sent an e-mail to the Devaswom Board several years ago saying that he wanted to use some of the remaining gold for a wedding. This man was entrusted with gold plating of the statues.
The entire controversy is shocking and a former judge has been asked to make an inventory of all valuables inside the temple and also expose all malpractices that have been going on.
One can only hope that those involved in the theft of gold and valuable of the temple will be brought to book soon.
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