PIL filed to check misuse of harmful injection
Our High Court Correspondent
Chandigarh, May 22
The People for Animals (PFA), Haryana chapter, has filed a PIL in Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking directions to respondents to check the ongoing system of milch cattle being injected with oxytocin, a drug that leads to more milk production.
In its petition, filed through the chairman of the Haryana chapter, Mr Naresh Kumar Kadyan, the PFA has stated that oxytocin is a health hazard, both for animals as well as human beings and by injecting the same into the cattle in order to increase the milk yield, the various government agencies are only playing with the lives of the animals as well as the human beings.
The petitioner has claimed that on March 1, when he and some other persons visited the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, they witnessed animals being injected the chemical and treated brutally. Even the method of extraction of milk was found to be highly brutal and caused a lot of pain to the animals, the petitioner has stated. Following the visit, an FIR was registered on April 29.
The organisation has prayed that the investigation in the case be handed over to an independent agency. It has also prayed that a direction be issued to check and control misuse of the harmful injection.
Today, the Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Mr Justice H.S. Bedi and Mr Justice R.S. Randhawa issued notice of motion to the respondents for August 17.
2 comments:
Illegal drug factory sealed
From Bijendra Ahlawat
FARIDABAD, Jan 5 — The drug control authorities have sealed a drug factory here allegedly involved in production of oxytocin veterinary injection anpoules in an illegal and unhygienic manner. A large quantity of manufactured items and raw material has been seized and the factory has been sealed.
According to drug control officials, the raid was conducted on a tip off that oxytocin injections which is a controlled drug and whose production has been limited as a product, was being manufactured at a large scale mainly for commercial purposes at a factory situated near Palwal town in the district. The officials led by the Assistant State Drug Controller, Mr G. L Singhal, found that the unit, Moti Ram Pharmaceuticals, though had the licence to manufacture injections or injectibles, but had been producing the above stated product which the unit was not authorised to manufacture at a large scale and under unhygenic conditions.
The factory was reported to have been authorised to manufacture the product at ground floor only and under required standard conditions which include airconditioned room, qualified technical persons, proper supervision, proper dresses, gloves and testing facilities.
But the authorities claimed that not a single of the required conditions was fulfilled and the oxytocin ampoules were being manufactured not only at a large scale, but also in an unhygienic manner.
It is suspected that the oxytocin injections whose open sale had been already banned due to ‘misuse’ were being supplied in large scale not only locally, but also to neighbouring Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
The Haryana Government has already withdrawn licences of majority of the oxytocin (pituitary) injection producing units, after it was reported that it was being misused for milking milch cattle and could prove a health hazard for people consuming such milk. The state government also banned the open sale of such injections through the chemists or drug stores and its sale was allowed only on prescription by a physician or a hospital.
According to officials the daily production capacity of the seized unit had been around two lakh ampoules, which was much more by any standard, A large number of oxytocin injections had also been seized in the recent past which were being sold illegally by the shopkeepers, including the kiryana shops at many places in Rohtak, Jhajjar, Bhiwani and Hisar districts.
While two samples of the seized ampoules were taken, the authorities took into custody about 17,000 manufactured ampoules, two lakh ampoule labels, outer carton labels, plastic containers, burner, plasmic tubes and a nozzle. The local court has given the authorities the custody order of the seized material. A case under section 18/27 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act has been registered. It is reported that all ampoules manufactured here were being dated as March 2000.
Huge quantity of oxytocin injections seized
Tribune News Service
Faridabad, September 7
The Haryana Police has seized around nine lakh injections of a banned drug used for boosting milk and vegetable production from two trucks at Faridabad, a senior police officer told reporters here on Tuesday.
The first truck was confiscated by the Sales Tax Department when the driver was carrying some items without any documents on September one at a check post on the Mathura Road, Faridabad Superintendent of Police Shiv Shakti Rao said. He said even as the truck driver tried to arrange the penalty of Rs 90,000 imposed by the Sales Tax officials, the police got information that the vehicle was carrying some banned drugs.
Rao said on a search of the truck with the health department officials the police found over 3.50 lakh injections of a banned drug oxytocin which can be used for boosting milk production in animals and increasing the size of vegetables. The indiscriminate use of the banned oxytocin injection to enhance the yield of cattle milk has grown to an alarming level, posing a serious health risk to the consumers.
The recovery of a huge cache of such injections by the Excise and Taxation officials here from a truck, points to the gravity of the problem.
It was perhaps the first time that the Excise department seized a huge quantity of oxytocin injections, which had been used by the cattle owners to increase the milk yield despite a ban on their sale for the past several years.
According to the Deputy Commissioner, Mrs G. Anupama, at least 39 cartons having these injections were being taken in a truck, when the officials stopped it for routine checking on the National Highway.
She informed that the truck which was carrying the household commodities had come from Delhi. It was on its way to Ballabhgarh and did not have proper documents.
The officials found that the transporter was found guilty of not paying the tax amounting to Rs 1 lakh. Moreover, the oxytocin injections named as ‘Super Vaishali Dugdh Dhara’ had the manufacturing date of March 2006. According to the Chief Medical Officer of the district, the consumption of ‘oxytocinised’ milk could not only lead to several health disorders, but it was also dangerous to the health of the cattle.
He has appealed to social bodies and individuals to create an awareness both among the consumers as well the cattle owners to avoid the negative fallout. On the other hand, it is learnt that the neither the Health department nor any agency of the state government seems to be serious over the rampant use of such injections in both rural and urban areas.
It is reported that these injections are sold openly by the shopkeepers and there is hardly any checking of its sale.
Post a Comment