Bust racket flooding market with inferior drugs: MCP tells govt

Imphal, May 28: Maoist Communist Party has accused the health department of turning a blind eye to the health risk posed to the public who are now left with just the option of purchasing cheap and inferior drugs due to a lucrative racket operated for years by pharmaceutical companies and doctors.  
In a communiqué released by the coordinator, standing committee, it stated that the suffering caused to the people by inferior health care service in the state is further compounded by a nexus between pharmaceutical companies and doctors prescribing medicines and an unscrupulous inclination among pharmacies to sell drugs which bring them more profit over those which are better in quality.
Literate people are aware of that fact that under the influence of medical representatives of pharmaceutical companies doctors are pushing their drugs which are cheaper and more profitable but inferior in quality.
The public are unable to break their silence on this matter as in general public movement rarely happens unless the government or voluntary organizations take the initiative to become their leaders, it stated further pointing out that major civil society organsiations active in the state have ignored the issues related to health service in the past undermining its importance.
The MCP has in the past caused aggravation to certain groups from making similar comments about the CSOs though they were expressed in good faith.
The attitude of the health department to avoid taking serious actions against the drug companies and medical practitioners who are conniving to push inferior quality drugs into the market has raise grave suspicions whether the officials of the department are getting portion of the profits, the MCP’s statement charged.
The group warned that it will no longer tolerate such delinquent behavior of the health department and in the pursuit to safeguard the lives and properties of the common people will be compelled to adopt a forceful solution to end the wrongful practices.