In the wake of the rising COVID-19 cases, the Maharashtra government has cracked down on the illegal sale of masks and hand sanitisers, and seized goods worth ₹21 lakh.
State Minister for Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Rajendra Shingne carried out multiple raids across the city on Wednesday along with his staff, and identified pharmacies and medical shops hoarding sanitisers or selling them at more than the maximum retail price (MRP).
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A senior official of the department said, “In the last seven days, we have taken action at 21 locations across the State. We have found people who have been bringing poor quality hand sanitisers from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and selling them in Mumbai and Pune. Goods worth a total of ₹21 lakh have been seized.”
Senior officials said hoarding of hand sanitisers and face masks is prohibited as the items have been notified under the Essential Commodities Act. The Maharashtra government has put masks and hand sanitisers under Essential Commodities Act (ECA) up to June 30, 2020 to ensure proper availability of these items in market at correct price in view of the outbreak.
FDA officials said they received information about widespread hoarding taking place at some locations and carried out searches on Tuesday and Wednesday. The raids were conducted under the statutory rules and regulations that prohibit hoarding and illegal sale of essential commodities.
The Minister made surprise checks at two pharmacies in Colaba and also inspected shops outside Bombay Hospital and the Medical Research Centre in Marine Lines. Mr. Shingne warned shopkeepers against hoarding sanitisers and masks and informed them that the number of complaints about illegal sale of the items has been growing. He conducted his final inspection at Worli, where he went through the billing records at two shops.
Mr. Shingne said, “We have recovered fake masks and sanitisers from locations in Pune and Mumbai. I will continue to inspect these locations and ensure that in times of crisis, citizens are able to access essential commodities.” He also said the FDA is looking into medicines sold at pharmacies that claim to counter COVID-19.
In Aurangabad, FDA officials caught owners of pharmacies replacing the expiry date labels on hand sanitiser bottles to profit from panic buying during the outbreak.
There have been complaints of surgical masks being sold at rates 20 times above the MRP in Mumbai and Pune. In its notification last week, the FDA had declared sanitisers, surgical masks and N95 masks as essential commodities and warned of action against people hoarding these articles.
