SHILLONG: Illegal practice of medicine is on the rise in Garo Hills.
Two persons, Tara Mia and Md. Bilal, were found to be selling medicines without having valid licenses during inspections carried out in pharmacies and private practitioners at Chibinang market in West Garo Hills on Wednesday, according to a complaint lodged by a magistrate DG Momin at Phulbari police station.
The magistrate on July 2 filed another complaint at Tura PS against MS Sangma, who was illegally selling allopathic medicines without any license. Sangma produced a document issued by Indian Council of Alternative Medicine (ICAM), Kolkata, which was, however, not recognised by the State Government and he was subsequently arrested.
The Deputy Commissioner of West Garo Hills, Sanjay Goyal, also detained three more people from Tikrikilla, who possessed similar certificates from ICAM, and hunt is on to arrest others involved in such illegal trade practices. Interestingly, on verification there was no trace of any registration numbers on the ICAM certificates of the detainees, which rather proved the vagueness of these certificates.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, the DC said cases of selling fake medicines has not come to the notice but there are various categories of trade licenses which the practitioners are not following thoroughly.
“We have expedited license registration checking of medical practitioners and the medical departments have been asked to keep vigil on the practitioners,” he said.
Meanwhile, a doctor from Tura said such practices by medical practitioners will only bring misery to the people of Garo Hills. He said administering wrong medicines will only further complicate the cases of affected people from diseases like malaria, which is commonly prevalent in Garo Hills.
On June 14 last, three people were detained for administering hepatitis vaccine in Tikrikilla, which was brought to the notice by Medical and Health Officer (MHO), SC Sangma, PHC, Tikrikilla. According to the complaint of the MHO, a Goalpara-based NGO Social Health Care Organization was supplying hepatitis vaccination to the villagers under Tikrikilla PHC without the permission of the MHO.
On any connivance that these illegal medical practitioners may have with neighboring Assam, the DC said this is only a case where various categories of trace licenses are not adhered to and are violated. “We have received certain complaints and on the basis of that actions were initiated. It does not warrant any magisterial inquiry,” he said.