KARUR: A portion of a three-storeyed building in the annexe at the Collectorate here has been serving as a dumping yard for unused medical equipment and expired medicines. What has shocked the people of the district, where medical equipment are in great demand, is that most of the dumped equipment are in good condition.Also, the unscientific disposal of expired medicines here has created fear that these could land in the hand of anti-socials, who might try to re-sell them after labelling them new.According to sources, many of the medicines found here are expired. These include, about 5,000 bottles of Vitamin A concentrate solution packed in cartons.Different kinds of powders used in Siddha medicine having 2010 as expiry date had also been found discarded. Instick S, a device used to detect glucose level in urine has also been bundled in sacks. Six new refrigerators, which could otherwise been put to better use, had also been found here.Sources said that when a drive against sale of expired medicines was implemented, pharmaceutical companies were advised to dispose them of in a scientific manner. But the sight of the expired items, reportedly dumped by the health department, raises eyebrows on its functioning. It is time the district administration wakes up to the issue.
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