A large number of medicines, all tablets, were recovered from a pond and jungle bordering Raipur and Baloda Bazar districts during a cleaning up operation.
The tablets manufactured by Mahavar Pharma were reportedly dumped in the pond and jungle following a ban laid by the Government and seizure of banned drugs from medical stores.
“I have come to know about medicines dumped in a pond and have directed the Block Medical Officer to investigate the matter and submit the report,” Director Health Services R Prasanna told The Pioneer.
According to sources, the residents of Saropi village spotted the medicines when they were cleaning the pond and found some fish dead. They took out hundreds of tablets from the pond and informed the Health Department officials and police about this.
The medicines recovered are painkillers and manufactured by Mahavar Pharma, the company which is facing ban in the State after death of women in Bilaspur sterilisation camps. The boxes of the medicines were also found burnt near the spot.
Some medicines were also found in a jungle about 2 kms from the pond and manufactured by Kabra company, sources said. Most of the tablets found in the jungle had expired and need to be returned to the company.
A team of officers including Block Medical Officer and Drug Inspector rushed to the spot and collected the medicines taken out from the lake.