Bhopal, Oct 7 (IANS) As the death toll in the Coldrif syrup tragedy in Chhindwara and Betul districts continued to increase, now reaching 17 with one more child’s death on Tuesday, the opposition Congress sharpened its attack on the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government.

State Congress unit head Jitu Patwari, who on Monday visited Chhindwara and met aggrieved families whose children allegedly died due to consumption of Coldrif Cough Syrup, addressing a press conference in Bhopal on Tuesday, alleged that corruption in the state’s administration led to this tragedy.

“This incident not just exposed the reality of health services in Madhya Pradesh but also evidence of administrative failure and high-level corruption in the state government. Duplicate or poisonous medicines are provided in hospitals and medical stores, and it can’t happen without paying commission,” Patwari alleged.

He said that children kept dying, but senior officials from the health department didn’t take prompt action. “Why didn’t Health Minister (Dy CM) Rajendra Shukla carry out a ground inspection when reports of children’s deaths started coming out for the last two weeks? He instead claimed that Coldrif Syrup wasn’t a reason behind children’s death,” Patwari alleged.

The Congress leader asked why Chief Minister Mohan Yadav was not taking action against Rajendra Shukla and the Principal Secretary of the Health department? He also questioned why the Chhindwara collector transferred when he ordered a ban on the sale of Coldrif Cough Syrup?

“Situation might not have worsened as much had the Chhindwara collector not transferred. And if, Collector was transferred, then why Chief Minister didn’t take action against the Principal Secretary of Health? The government is doing a whitewash and nothing else, health minister Rajendra Shukla would have been thrown out of the cabinet,” Patwari said.

He announced that the Congress on October 9 (Wednesday) would hold a candle march in Bhopal and other parts of the state to express grief over the death of 17 children. Patwari said that 25 families (parents of victims) of Chhindwara and Betul districts were forced to witness this tough time. Seventeen children have died, and at least seven are still admitted to different hospitals in Nagpur.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav also visited Chhindwara on Monday and met several families of children who allegedly died after consuming a contaminated cough syrup, Coldrif. He ordered the suspension of three officials—Shobhit Kosta, Deputy Drug Controller (Bhopal), and Drug Inspectors Sharad Jain (Jabalpur) and Gaurav Sharma (Chhindwara). The Food and Drug Controller, Denesh Kumar Morya, has also been transferred.

Most of the children were under the age of five and died of kidney failure over the past month after consuming the cough medicine branded Coldrif syrup, which contained the toxin diethylene glycol in quantities nearly 500 times the permissible limit, according to test reports.

–IANS

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