SUKKUR, Oct 20: Substandard, expired and samples of drugs given free of cost to doctors by pharmaceutical companies are being sold openly at majority of medical stores in the district and quacks’ business is spreading by leaps and bounds thanks to large-scale corruption among drug inspectors.

This scribe found after a survey carried out on Monday that a large number of drug wholesalers and retailers were involved in the dirty business of selling substandard and expired medicines and samples.

The samples of drugs supplied to government and private hospitals by pharmaceutical companies for distribution free of cost among the poor and needy, are being sold openly with complete impunity.

The survey found that majority of medical stores in Sukkur, Rohri, Pano Akil, Salehpat, Kandhra, Ali Wahan, Ghotki, Mirpur Mathelo, Ubauro, Daharki, Khairpur, Pir Jo Goth and their adjoining towns and villages were involved in selling substandard medicines, which instead of giving any relief to the patient, sometimes posed serious danger to his or her life.

Besides, number of quacks was increasing day by day and according to reliable sources they were in hundreds only in Sukkur and its adjoining areas. The quacks were playing with people’s lives and were the main source of spread of hepatitis-B and C and other epidemics, they said.

The sources alleged that drug inspectors and other relevant officers were pocketing hundreds of thousands of rupees per month as commission extracted from drug dealers, medical store owners and quacks.

They claimed that the money was handed to drug inspectors and other relevant officers through the union of wholesale medical dealers and retailers so as to make sure no action would be taken against them.

District Drug Inspector Ghulam Ali Lakho confirmed reports of commission and irregularities and said that 80 cases of such medical stores were under process at the provincial quality control board and drug court of Karachi out of which 52 belonged to Sukkur only.

He said that so far many owners of medical stores had either been fined or jailed on charges of possessing substandard medicines, samples, Iranian and Indian-made drugs and even expired drugs.

He said that the department had set up a complaint cell in Sukkur, where anybody could lodge a complaint about sale of substandard drugs, samples and expired drugs.

The divisional drug inspector Syed Islam Shah could not be reached over phone while the EDO of health Dr. Tariq Dareshani admitted open sale of substandard medicines and samples at medical stores. Primarily, it was drug inspectors’ duty to keep an eye on the malpractices, he said.

He said that minutes after a quack or medical store owner was held, he would start receiving calls from many influential people, requesting him to let that person go. Some of the doctors, quacks and paramedics were even found reusing syringes as they did not have any syringe cutters at their clinics, it was found.

VISIT: The French Consul-General, Pierre Siellen, visited Shah Abdul Shah Latif University in Khairpur on Monday.

He met the vice-chancellor and discussed the matter regarding contribution of French government in strengthening the academic culture of varsities in Pakistan with a particular reference to Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur.

He hailed the efforts of the administration and faculty in enhancing the academic environment of the institution. Later, the French CG took brief tour of the campus, where he was fascinated to see the herbarium and botanical garden recently established to facilitate research and learning based on most modern experiments and observations.