Have told Mangaluru Police Commissioner to make city drug-free in a month: Karnataka Home Minister
Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister Dr. G Parameshwara has said that the government has taken stringent measures to control drug trafficking in the state, adding that not merely Karnataka but the entire country was facing narcotic-related problems.
Addressing the Karnataka Assembly during Zero Hour on Wednesday, Parameshwara said that police superintendents of all districts in Karnataka too have been instructed to pay attention to the matter and prevent drug rackets from developing in their respective districts.
The Home Minister added, “Drug trafficking is a grave issue in Karnataka but the state should not let the sustenance of drug trafficking, especially in Bengaluru. The government is, therefore, working to put a halt on the racketeers in the state. After collecting information on drug trade going on in Mangaluru during the review meeting, I have instructed the Mangaluru City Police Commissioner to work at ensuring Mangaluru becomes drug-free within a month’s time.”
Parameshwara pointed out, “In the three weeks that we have been in power, our government has succeeded in getting drugs worth Rs 112 crore destroyed in the state, but the efforts should continue in the direction. After all, ‘narcotics’ does not refer to ganja alone. MDMA tablets, heroin and several other sorts of drugs are also in the same category of addictives.”
He also recollected that barely four to five years ago, Bengaluru was compared to Punjab, where narcotic use is rampant. “Punjab is being supplied huge quantities of drugs from other state and also other countries. Drug addiction has been a problem with not just adults but even school and college students in Punjab, earning the title ‘Udta Punjab’ for the state,” he said.
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'Low-quality' catheters supplied to West Bengal govt hospitals at high price, probe ordered
Kolkata (PTI): The West Bengal health department has launched a probe into the supplies of allegedly low-quality and locally made catheters at a high price to several government hospitals, posing a risk to the lives of patients undergoing treatment in these facilities, officials said.
Such central venous catheters (CVCs) were allegedly supplied to at least five medical colleges and hospitals in the state, defying allocation of international standard-compliant CVCs, they said.
The distribution company, which has been accused of supplying these catheters to government hospitals, admitted to the fault but placed the blame on its employees.
"We started checking stocks some time back and found these locally made CVCs in my hospital store. These catheters are of low quality as compared to those allocated by the state. We have informed the state health department," a senior official of the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital told PTI.
Low-quality catheters were also found in the stores of other hospitals, which indicates "possible involvement of insiders in the scam", a health department official said.
The low-quality CVCs were supplied by a distributor in the Hatibagan area in the northern part of Kolkata for the last three to four months, he said.
"Such kinds of local CVCs are priced around Rs 1,500 but the distributor took Rs 4,177 for each device," the official said.
A CVC is a thin and flexible tube that is inserted into a vein to allow for the administration of fluids, blood, and other treatment. It's also clinically called a central line catheter.
"An initial probe revealed that the distribution company Prakash Surgical had supplied the low-quality and locally manufactured catheters to several government hospitals instead of the CVCs of the government-designated international company.
"All the units will be tested and a proper investigation is on to find out who benefited from these supplies," the health department official said.
The distribution company blamed its employees for the supply of inferior quality catheters.
"I was sick for a few months. Some employees of the organisation made this mistake. We are taking back all those units that have gone to the hospitals. It's all about misunderstanding," an official of the distribution company told PTI.
According to another state health department official, a complaint was lodged with the police in this connection.
Asked about how many patients were affected by the usage of such low-quality CVCs, the official said, "The probe would also try to find that out".
According to sources in the health department, some of the staff of the hospitals' equipment receiving departments and some local officials of international organisations might be involved in the alleged irregularities.
