Drugs being sold on black market, says ex-CM Omar

Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 19

Amid spike in Covid cases in J&K, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah alleged that drugs meant for coronavirus patients were being sold on the black market in the Union Territory.

Oppn worried lot

Opposition parties have raised concern over the surging corona cases in J&K as death toll in the UT has more than doubled in the past fortnight.

“The medicine is unavailable at regular rates and reportedly a regular dose costs Rs 6,000, which is being sold on the black market for Rs 36,000. Can someone in the administration please organise supplies of #Remdesivir without people having to struggle for it”, Omar tweeted while responding to a patient, who had appealed for the arrangement of the medicine for his ailing father.

“This is the other side of the #Remdesivir story and this comes from a medical professional. The drug may not be effective, but so long as the people are going to buy it, the authorities should make sure black marketeers don’t take advantage of desperation”, Omar tweeted while reacting to the tweet of a Kashmir-based doctor.

The doctor clarified, “Patients desperate for costly anti-virals, including Remdesivir, used to treat corona. These drugs have not proven to be effective. Cheap paracetamol and dexamethasone are the only two drugs that help”.

Claimed to be beneficial for Covid patients, companies have fixed prices of Remdesivir for less than Rs 5,000. J&K is witnessing a surge in coronavirus cases as the number of patients crossed the 13,000-mark on Saturday evening.

Meanwhile, opposition parties have raised concern over the surging corona cases in J&K as death toll in the UT has more than doubled in the past fortnight. “The rising number of fatalities due to the deadly virus is a matter of serious concern for all”, former minister and Congress leader Raman Bhalla said and warned, “It will be disaster if the administration fails to strictly enforce the lockdown restrictions as it is the only solution as of now to contain the spread of the virus”.