SRINAGAR; 23, April 2013: Cotton supplied to hospitals turns out to be substandard:

While the stinking ‘spurious drug’ scam refuses to die down, in yet another bizarre revelation, it has come to fore that the cotton supplied to government hospitals in Jammu and Kashmir is of substandard quality.

Official sources said that following the latest revelations, the Health Department has kept the supply of fresh cotton on hold and has instead started purchasing it from the open market at exorbitant rates.

Reliable sources informed that after it was found that cotton being supplied to the Government Medical Colleges (GMC) and its associated hospitals in the state is of very poor quality and below specifications, the supply was stopped and inquiry ordered into the matter.

“We have stopped bulk purchase of cotton and are now purchasing it locally from open market on need basis”, sources within the department informed adding that the rate approved for the bulk supply was Rs 69 per 500 gm of cotton whereas locally, the same quantity is being purchased at Rs 89 to Rs 90 per 500 gm. “It is causing big loss to the state exchequer”, they added.

Sources told that the contract for supply of cotton to GMC and its associated hospitals in the state was allotted to a supplier for the year 2012-13 and a rate of Rs 69 per 500 gm of cotton was approved by the committee. “The supplier first did not supply the cotton. Later, after pressure from the hospital administration, they supplied it but it was found out to be of poor quality and below specifications after which the supply was stopped by the administration”, they informed adding that for the last around nine to ten months, cotton is now being purchased from the open market which is causing a big loss to the state exchequer.

Minister for Medical Education, Taj Mohi-ud-Din, while talking to media, also confirmed that cotton being supplied to the hospitals was below specifications and as such it is being purchased from the open market on need basis.
“We have stopped bulk purchase and are now purchasing it locally as per the need and requirement”, he said adding, “An inquiry over the matter is also going on and samples for testing have also been sent to Kolkatta about one month back”. He added that appropriate action will be taken after the report.

Health Minister, Shabir Khan, has also assured strict action against such firms.

Mannitol Injection of poor quality:


With fresh disclosures coming to the surface, the spurious drug scam is turning out to be a full-fledged mafia allegedly run by some “unscrupulous” pharmaceutical distributors in league with officials of the health department and drug control organization.

In a related development, another drug Mannitol injection (Ashtol) 100ml, supplied to government hospitals, has been declared substandard in an analytical report.

According to the report, needle like crystals were found in the injection which seems to be of substandard quality.  The drug has been supplied by a Jammu-based distributor M/S Magnus Enterprises and manufactured by Aishwarya Healthcare, Solan, Himachal Pradesh.

The supply order reveals that the supply order for the drug was placed by the Jammu based Purchase Committee-II of the Health and Medical Education Department, J&K.  The approval was granted under approval order no: GMC/J/PC-11/RC//EDL/12-13/870-83 dated: 17-5-2012.

Pertinently, the Purchase Committee-II is already in dock for the purchase of spurious Maximizen tablets. The substandard nature of the sample of Mannitol Injection came to light after samples were lifted from the stores of government medical college Jammu.

“The report of the other samples is awaited. A copy of adverse report received from M/S A to Z pharmaceutical (laboratory) is enclosed with the recommendations,” a letter by a panel of three officers including Administrator Associated Hospitals Jammu, Personal Officer Associated Hospitals GMC Jammu and Assistant Director Planning, Associated Hospitals Jammu, addressed to Principal Government Medical College Jammu reads.

The letter also directs Medical Superintendent Government Medical Jammu to lodge an FIR in this regard in police Station Bakshi Nagar. The copies of the letter number: A IJ/ 07/11 dated 17-04 2013 have also been sent to Commissioner Secretary to Health and Medical Education Department, Medical Superintendent, Medical College Hospital Jammu, Medical officer, Stores, MCH Jammu, Special  Assistant to Minister for Medical Education, Youth Services and Sports.