PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Five medical stores in Dehradun’s Selaqui area were found violating drug safety regulations during a joint inspection conducted on Monday. Out of these, four were sealed or shut down on the spot. The inspection was carried out by the Dehradun District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and the Drug Administration under the Safe Drugs Safe Life campaign. The officials informed that at least five stores were found stocking expired medicines, operating without valid licenses, failing to maintain cold storage standards and lacking proper records. The inspection team, led by DLSA secretary Seema Dungarkoti, included drug inspectors, police personnel and four judicial officers under training. The officials informed that Saraswati Clinic and Medical Store was shut down after the team found large quantities of expired drugs, no disposal system was in place, the CCTV camera was broken and the in-house clinic’s documentation had expired over a year ago. Two branches of Dhanvantri Medicos were also found violating norms. The team sealed one branch after inspectors found poor hygiene, minimal stock and an expired license under the name Vishal Pal. At the other branch, inspectors ordered immediate destruction of spoiled vaccines and noted the absence of a temperature display in the refrigerator. They informed that at the Health Care Medical Agency, authorities found an expired retail license, absence of narcotics registers and sale of medicines on a wholesale basis without valid documentation. The team found expired medicines and the management reportedly failed to produce purchase bills. The team stopped the store’s sales and directed the owner to submit a written explanation. The authorities also reportedly found expired medicines in the refrigerator and across the premises of Sanjeevani Medicos. The freezer temperature was irregular and the owner failed to produce purchase-sale records. The license was suspended for one month. A second inspection of the same store under professor Bittu Saini revealed additional expired diagnostic strips and surgical blades. Sales were halted immediately. Authorities seized the expired stock from all five locations and served notices to store operators and directed them to appear before the Drug Administration office.
