HAVERI: Piles of expired tablets, reportedly worth lakhs of rupees, were found dumped near the road leading from Haveri to Kanakapura village, sparking public outrage. The tablets, identified as folic acid supplements used to treat iron deficiency, had expiry dates going back to 2010.
Residents raised serious concerns about the potential risk to stray animals. “What happens if cattle or dogs consume these tablets? Poor patients in government hospitals often don’t receive medicines, yet here we see stockpiles of unused tablets thrown away,” said a local, demanding strict action and suspension of those responsible.
District Drug Controller Sanganna Silli and Taluk Health Officer (THO) Prabhakar Kundapura visited the site and inspected the discarded medicines. THO Kundapura assured that an inquiry is underway and action will be taken against the culprits involved in this unlawful disposal.
Sanganna Silli emphasized that expired medicines must be handed over to licensed biomedical waste management agencies. “Whoever has the license to stock these medicines is also responsible for their safe disposal. Dumping expired drugs like this is a serious violation,” he said, adding that a full report will be submitted after gathering details from those linked to the incident.
The discovery has raised questions about negligence in pharmaceutical waste disposal and the larger issue of accountability in the public healthcare system. Authorities confirmed that further investigation is ongoing to trace the source and hold those accountable for endangering public and animal health.
People see the district hospital as a temple and doctors as gods. But when patients arrive, doctors don’t collaborate to treat them. Instead, they write prescriptions for medicines to be bought outside. Meanwhile, government-provided medicines are carelessly spilled on the streets, said Raitha Sangha leader Fakiragouda Ghazigoudar.