On Tuesday, a joint surprise inspection of medical stores in the Mussoorie area was conducted under the ‘Safe Drugs-Safe Life’ campaign, in accordance with directives from the Uttarakhand State and District Legal Services Authorities. A team comprising Seema Dungrakoti (Secretary, District Legal Services Authority), Manendra Singh Rana (Senior Drug Inspector), and Vinod Juglan (Drug Inspector) detected several irregularities.
Strict action was taken against three major medical stores due to serious deficiencies observed during the inspection:
Hammers Medicos: A notice was issued and the sale and purchase of medicines were halted due to the absence of a pharmacist, the storage of expired medicines alongside other stock, the lack of CCTV surveillance, and poor hygiene.
Agarwal Medicos: The store was shut down and sales were suspended after it was found selling medicines despite the pharmacist being on leave, maintaining incorrect vaccine storage temperatures, and stocking damaged or expired medicines.
Optician Medical Store: The store was immediately closed due to the absence of a pharmacist and a malfunctioning refrigerator.
Additionally, shortcomings were found at Pioneer Medical Store and A. James & Company. A. James & Company was found to have an expired license with no renewal documents available; consequently, the sale of medicines was halted there as well.
Officials emphasized that compromising citizens’ health or disregarding regulations would not be tolerated.
