Minister for Health and Medical Education Bali Baghat Wednesday said that he will pass on strict directions to Drug Control Department to ban the sale of Khyber Dairy product in Jammu and Kashmir. “It is very unfortunate that even after the court directions; the Drug Department has not stopped the sale of Khyber milk product in the state. I will surely give directions to them to follow court orders in letter and spirit,” Bhagat told CNS and added that government will not allow anybody to play with the lives of innocent people.Ironically, even after the court directions that Khyber Dairy product should either be taken off from the market or the company should be closed till Referral Laboratory does not declare product safe for consumption, the M/S Khyber Agro Farms Pvt Ltd as usual pumped milk and curd into the markets of Kashmir.
Pertinently, Judicial Magistrate (Sub-Judge) Budgam, Imtiaz Ahmad Lone, had directed the Commissioner Food and Safety to close down the company or ensure that its products are taken off the market till the outcome of results of the samples to be taken from the market.In his judgment, Lone had said: “The Commissioner Food and Safety shall immediately take all steps in ensuring that the convicted company is closed or products are taken off from the market unless Referral Laboratory Kolkata declares that the products of the convicted company as safe to consume and products manufactured by the convicted company do not harm the nation as is proved by the medical report submitted by the SKIMS.”
The company today continued its operations in violation of court orders and distributed 47,000 litres of Khyber Milk and 2000 kilogrammes of Curd besides other dairy products in the market across Kashmir.When CNS tried to know about the reason from the Deputy Drug Controller Dr Irfana, she said the report has been sent to Commissioner Food Safety and final call will be taken after the examination of the report. “The curd and milk that Khyber has pumped into the market today are afresh but we have taken the samples of these products as well and we will send them for laboratory analysis,” she said. When asked the court has disallowed the sale of Kyber dairy product in the markets, she said, “Commissioner Food Safety has to take a final call in this regard.” (CNS)