Drug mafia-doctors nexus derails opening of fair price shops

Drug mafia-doctors nexus derails opening of fair price shops Nitesh Sangral 9/26/2012 7:00:09 PM JAMMU, Sept 26: Drug mafia-doctors nexus and failure of government to provide space in Government Medical College (GMC) and Government Hospital, Gandhi nagar has derailed the project to open fair price Jan Anushudi Drug Stores (JADS) for benefit of poor under centrally sponsored scheme. These fair price shops were sponsored by the Union Health Ministry and first phase these stores were to be opened at SMHS Hospital, Srinagar, Government Hospital Gandhi Nagar and one each at Leh and Kargil and later the central scheme was be extended to other districts of Jammu and Kashmir. “During last around two years only two shops including one in Leh and one at Srinagar has been opened, while the third at Anantnag was yet to be inaugurated. While no space has been provided in Jammu, due to pressure from drug mafia”, said a source. One benefit of opening these shops would have been to ensure quality medicines at affordable prices to people particularly the poor, who are the main sufferers of the rising medicine prices”, said a official. In recent years Jammu and Kashmir has invested crores of rupees in strengthening basic infrastructure in the state particularly in rural areas. With the increase in the increasing budget in the healthcare development, number of pharma companies has created market for their products here, with many of the companies dumping low cost drugs in the market which has become a major concern for the administration. Sources said that some officials of Health Department have ensured that Red Cross Society, implementing the project dont get required supply of drugs and necessary space, due to pressure of lobby of medical distributors. Under a central-sponsored scheme, fair price shops, called JADS, were to setup to provide quality medicine to the patients at genuine rates, but the influential pharma lobby has made every effort to delay it. General Secretary Red Cross Society, Feroz Ahmed said that due to non availability of space they were not able to open fair price shops in Jammu. “We had proposed to open one shop but so far nothing has been done”, Feroz said.