The Crossbill News Desk
A controversy has erupted in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur after residents of a flood-hit locality alleged that cough syrup distributed by the state health department had already crossed its expiry date.
At least two residents reported falling ill after consuming or administering the medicine, while health officials have denied that the disputed batch was distributed through the department’s current stock.
The incident was reported from Mayapuram, where a health department team allegedly distributed 50-ml bottles of cough syrup to at least 20 families on September 7. The medicine was distributed as part of relief efforts for people affected by flooding along the Pandu River, which has affected around 40,000 people in parts of Kanpur and Kanpur Dehat.
According to a report in India Today, the bottles were labelled Trimethoprim and Sulphamethoxazole Oral Suspension IP and carried a Uttar Pradesh government label. They were manufactured by Maxchem Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand. The bottles bore August 2024 as the manufacturing date and July 2026 as the expiry date.
Local resident Meena Bi told news channels that her son developed health complications after taking the syrup.
“Soon after I gave cough syrup to my son, he was down with fever and complained of dysentery. When we took him to the doctor that’s how it came to our notice that medicine was administered after its expiry date,” Meena Bi said.
She also alleged that officials returned the following day and offered money in exchange for the bottles.
“Twenty-four hours later, that team [from the state health department] returned, asking us to return the cough syrup bottle in lieu of Rs 100. Of what use would this money have been if something had happened to my child?” Meena Bi said.
The allegations, however, have been rejected by Kanpur Chief Medical Officer Hari Dutt Nemi. He said an examination of the department’s drug warehouse showed that the medicine in question had been part of its stock in July 2025, but denied that the disputed batch was among medicines currently held by the department.
“When we conducted an examination of our drug warehouse, it was confirmed that the said medicine was part of our stock in July 2025 and was distributed via some Community Health Centres depending on demand. But the medicine distributed recently is neither part of our stock nor is the said batch number part of the current stock,” The Wire quoted Nemi as saying.
Nemi also denied allegations that health department officials had offered Rs 100 to residents for returning the bottles.
The controversy has also drawn a political response from the Congress, which attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party government over what it described as a ‘deadly syrup’.
In a post on X, the official Congress account said, “This is not the first time that such a thing has happened. Earlier illegal codeine cough syrup was also being sold right under the nose of this very government and the system was sleeping”.
At least two residents reported falling ill after consuming or administering the medicine, while health officials have denied that the disputed batch was distributed through the department’s current stock.
The incident was reported from Mayapuram, where a health department team allegedly distributed 50-ml bottles of cough syrup to at least 20 families on September 7. The medicine was distributed as part of relief efforts for people affected by flooding along the Pandu River, which has affected around 40,000 people in parts of Kanpur and Kanpur Dehat.
According to a report in India Today, the bottles were labelled Trimethoprim and Sulphamethoxazole Oral Suspension IP and carried a Uttar Pradesh government label. They were manufactured by Maxchem Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand. The bottles bore August 2024 as the manufacturing date and July 2026 as the expiry date.
Local resident Meena Bi told news channels that her son developed health complications after taking the syrup.
“Soon after I gave cough syrup to my son, he was down with fever and complained of dysentery. When we took him to the doctor that’s how it came to our notice that medicine was administered after its expiry date,” Meena Bi said.
She also alleged that officials returned the following day and offered money in exchange for the bottles.
“Twenty-four hours later, that team [from the state health department] returned, asking us to return the cough syrup bottle in lieu of Rs 100. Of what use would this money have been if something had happened to my child?” Meena Bi said.
The allegations, however, have been rejected by Kanpur Chief Medical Officer Hari Dutt Nemi. He said an examination of the department’s drug warehouse showed that the medicine in question had been part of its stock in July 2025, but denied that the disputed batch was among medicines currently held by the department.
“When we conducted an examination of our drug warehouse, it was confirmed that the said medicine was part of our stock in July 2025 and was distributed via some Community Health Centres depending on demand. But the medicine distributed recently is neither part of our stock nor is the said batch number part of the current stock,” The Wire quoted Nemi as saying.
Nemi also denied allegations that health department officials had offered Rs 100 to residents for returning the bottles.
The controversy has also drawn a political response from the Congress, which attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party government over what it described as a ‘deadly syrup’.
In a post on X, the official Congress account said, “This is not the first time that such a thing has happened. Earlier illegal codeine cough syrup was also being sold right under the nose of this very government and the system was sleeping”.
Comments (0)
Leave a Comment