Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Guwahati: Drug inspectors just wrapped a five-day sweep across Barpeta district. They targeted pharmacies and wholesalers to catch regulatory cheats. The operation flushed out violations ranging from unlicensed selling to illegal stocking. Teams seized loads of medicine and padlocked doors throughout the region.
Trouble started at the Mandia Weekly Market. Officials grabbed allopathic drugs from vendors and took statements with police help. They found an unlicensed shop at Satrakanara and moved to secure the stock. Inspectors then hit Gohiya, Barmara Bazar, Chenga, Nagaon, Howly, and Barpeta Road. They found wholesalers running retail shops on the side. The state ordered these outlets to shut down immediately. At Barpeta Road, authorities sealed a warehouse and a homeopathic storage room because the owners could not show the right paperwork.
The pressure mounted in Sorbhog, Lasanga, and Kalgachia. An Executive Magistrate joined the teams to seal three pharmacies. Owners in these areas tried to duck the inspectors by closing shop and running away. Inspectors caught them by posting official notices on the shutters instead. The team also took 185 vials of suspected misbranded Oxytocin into custody. An official stated, "Notices were also affixed to several establishments directing them to produce the required documents, as inspections in the area were being hampered by pharmacy owners closing their establishments and dispersing."
Enforcement crews expanded the hunt to Bheraldi, Radhakuchi, Bheragaon, and Jyotigaon. They locked a Bheraldi pharmacy and a Muslimpatty godown. Another shop in Radhakuchi ended up under lock and key. By the fifth day, officials reached Palhazi Bazar and Pathsala. They filed formal reports against several pharmacies to push for departmental action.
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