Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has written a letter to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday urging him to notify medicines used in the treatment of coronavirus under the Essential Commodities Act.

In his letter the Chief Minister said due to rise in the coronavirus cases, demands for Remdesivir injection, Ivermectin tablets, Tocilizumab injection, Favipiravir Capsule, Enoxaparin injection and Dexamethasone Tablet have increased in the state, resulting in hoarding and black marketing of these medicines and injections.

He said that the state government has already taken several measures such as constant monitoring of distribution and use of these medicines in hospitals, constituting a special tsk force for the purpose, surprise inspection and raids on receiving information of black marketing to stop hoarding and black marketing of these medicines.

He added that notifying these medicines and injections under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 will help the state government in not only stopping black marketing but also in ensuring availability and quality of these drugs. Mentioning that the Centre had earlier notified surgical and N95 masks and hand sanitisers under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 which helped in effectively fight with the first wave of Covid-19 virus, the Chief Minister urged that drugs used in managing and treatment of coronavirus be notified immediately under the Act, keeping in mind the current situation of surge in the coronavirus cases.