Sonipat (Haryana): Kunti stays just opposite to the factory of Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd here but says she did not have the faintest idea that cough syrups produced there are suspected to be behind the deaths of scores of children in Gambia. It was only on Thursday when 49-year-old Kunti and many of the people in the neighbourhood got an idea of what had happened when they saw officials visiting the factory after WHO's alert on the cough syrups following the 66 deaths in the African country.
"Humko toh nahi pata aisa hua hai. Shukar hai, humne kabhi dawai nahi li yahan se. (We are not aware of the development. Thank God, we did not take medicine from here)," a visibly-shocked Kunti said on Friday. She held her granddaughter tightly in her lap while narrating the incident to her daughter-in-law Simmi. "That is why there were so many officials yesterday. We thought something has happened in the factory. Some fight or something," Simmi (25) said.
"This factory has been here for eight or 10 years. We never suspected that substandard products are being made here. Are they being sold in the Indian market as well? What is the name of the cough syrup, I will ensure that I don't buy it," she said. She was interrupted by her neighbour who informed her that medicines from this factory were only exported to other countries. The locals are unaware of the magnitude of the controversy. This particular factory could be easily missed amid hundreds of similar-looking factories in the industrial hub of India. The only thing that is giving it a distinct look now is the notices from authorities pasted outside the main gate about the substandard products.
One of the notices is an alert from WHO on four 'cough & cold' syrups made by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd. When this PTI reporter visited the factory on Friday, Haryana Drug Control Officials were at the premises for investigation. An ominous silence was shrouding the factory. The guards manning the door did not allow anyone around the premises. The factory has also become a source of curiosity among the locals. Few people from nearby localities have come here to see the factory.
"I learnt about it on the phone. I told my friend let's go and see the factory. We live very close to this. Not many people are aware of what happened," said Bharat, who works as a labourer in a nearby factory. Though people did not know exactly what had happened, many were heard sharing their views on the incident at a tea shop at a nook. "They added some chemicals in large quantities and that is why children died," said a local.
"Humko toh pata nahi tha yahan cough syrups bante hai. Das saal ho gaye hain mujhe yahan (I have no idea this factory was producing cough syrups. I have been living here for 10 years)," said another local. The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday issued an alert saying four "contaminated" and "substandard" cough syrups produced by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited could be the reason for the deaths in the West African nation.
The four products are Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup. A probe has been initiated by India's drug regulator after the WHO alert. Haryana's Health Minister Anil Vij on Thursday said samples of the four cough syrups have been sent to the Central Drugs Laboratory in Kolkata for examination. (PTI)
