Cough syrup tragedy: CM Mohan Yadav visits Nagpur to enquire about children's health

Bhopal/Nagpur, Oct 9 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Thursday inquired about health of children being treated at various hospitals in Nagpur due to consumption of toxic cough syrup.

Among the hospitals Chief Minister Yadav visited in Nagpur, includes - All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Health City Hospital, a government medical college where five children from Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara are being treated.

During his visit, the Chief Minister held interaction with doctors looking after those children and parents. He urged doctors to save children's lives at any cost, assuring Madhya Pradesh government will provide all possible support.

"Madhya Pradesh government stands with affected families. I have instructed officials to continue monitoring on children being treated in Nagpur's hospitals. I obtained detail information regarding their treatment," Yadav wrote on X with photographs of his visit to hospitals.

The situation is worsening day by day as the death toll from the toxic Coldrif cough syrup tragedy in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district has risen to 22, following the death of five-year-old Mayank Suryavanshi on Thursday.

Mayank, a resident of Khajri Antu village, who was admitted to a hospital in Nagpur in critical condition succumbed late Wednesday night to suspected kidney failure.

Officials confirmed that Mayank’s death is linked to the consumption of Coldrif, a cough syrup manufactured by Tamil Nadu-based Sresan Pharmaceuticals.

The syrup has been found to contain diethylene glycol (DEG), a toxic industrial solvent that can cause acute kidney damage and death, especially in children.

The tragedy has triggered a massive investigation and public outcry. The Madhya Pradesh Police have formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the deaths and have arrested Sresan Pharma’s owner, Ranganathan Govindrajan, from Chennai.

The drug manufacturing unit in Kanchipuram has been sealed, and authorities are working to obtain transit remand to bring Govindan to Chhindwara for further interrogation.

In response to the mounting fatalities, the Madhya Pradesh government has suspended two drug inspectors and a deputy director of the Food and Drug Administration. The state’s drug controller has also been transferred.

Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla, who had also visited Nagpur on Tuesday, also removed Naresh Gonnade, Chief Medical and Health Officer of Chhindwara, on Wednesday.

The Coldrif syrup was reportedly prescribed to children suffering from common colds and coughs. However, lab tests revealed dangerously high levels of DEG and other banned chemical combinations, including Paracetamol, Chlorpheniramine, and Phenylephrine, which lack warning labels and pose serious health risks.

Despite a central directive issued in 2023 banning such formulations for children under four, enforcement has been lax. Many pharmaceutical companies failed to update product labelling, and state authorities did not initiate adequate public awareness campaigns.

--IANS

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