06122022-CT-01.qxd 12/6/2022 12:41 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh TRIBUNE TUESDAY | 6 DECEMBER 2022 | CHANDIGARH 2 MORE VILLAGE PONDS TO BE CONVERTED INTO SAROVARS Work at Khuda Ali Sher village is in progress and the “sarovar” will be completed by December-end. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY TRICITY COVID REPORT CHD P’KULA MOHALI POSITIVE 99,338 48,431 1,01,151 RECOVERED 98,155 48,009 99,981 NEW CASES 0 0 1 ACTIVE 2 0 2 CHANGE — — — DEATHS 1,181 421 1,168 NEW 0 0 0 AIR QUALITY INDEX PANCHKULA 160 MOHALI 107 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD INBRIEF MAN HELD WITH 5-KG MARIJUANA Chandigarh: A Nepalese man, Kharak Bahadur, a resident of Manikaran, has been arrested with 5-kg marijuana. The arrest comes after Sector 51 resident Tanuj Garg was arrested with 110 gm contraband. He claimed he was in touch with the 63-yearold man, who used to cultivate marijuana in a forest area. The police suspect the youth used to supply drugs to students. On December 3, an MBA student was arrested in a drugs case. A case under the NSPS Act has been registered. TNS MAN FACING 100 CASES OF THEFT LANDS IN POLICE NET For the development of villages, the UT Administration will study models of other states on land pooling policy. MAX 25°C | MIN 9°C | YESTERDAY MAX 24.7°C | MIN 8.9°C SUNSET TUESDAY 5:22 PM TWITTER/THETRIBUNECHD On course to full opening FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE NITIN MITTAL Chandigarh, December 5 The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has sent samples of Propofol injection again for testing after the Himachal Pradesh-based manufacturing firm Nixi Laboratories challenged the Regional Drugs Testing Laboratory (RDTL), Chandigarh, report on the quality of the anaesthetic drug. The report on quality check of the Propoven manufactured by Nixi Labs (batch No. PNL 220316), drawn by the CDSCO, Baddi sub-zone, received on September 27 had revealed the samples failed tests, including description, pH, propofol dimer, free fatty acid and bacterial endotoxin sterility, at the RDTL, Chandigarh. However, the samples of the same batch drawn by the Himachal Pradesh Drugs Control Department were sent for testing to the Central Drugs Laboratory, Kolkata, and these failed only assay and free fatty acid, thereby showing contradiction from ■ Propoven samples drawn by CDSCO, Baddi sub-zone, had failed on several parameters at the Regional Drugs Testing Laboratory, Chandigarh ■ But samples drawn by HP Drugs Control Department and tested at Central Drugs Laboratory, Kolkata, failed on only two parameters ■ Further, PGI’s tests by own depts & PU facility found vials contained at least 26 impurities, some of which were toxic, besides other anomalies the CDSCO report. Sources shared the samples of the same batch of the anaesthetic would be tested at the Central Drugs Laboratory, Kolkata, by a senior official who would determine the quality of the drug in question. “The samples of the drug in question were seized from the PGI following complaints of five deaths. It will again be tested at the Central Drugs Laboratory to ascertain the quality of the drug. The investigation now depends on the grounds of the anaesthetic drug retest report as well as TESTS FAILED AT VARIOUS LABS RDTL, CHANDIGARH Description, pH, propofol dimer, free fatty acid, bacterial endotoxins sterility CDL, KOLKATA Assay & free fatty acid PGI’S INTERNAL TESTING Bacterial contamination, 26 impurities, pH below FDA range, incorrect labelling, suboptimal physical appearance, non-uniform, heterogeneous particle size the PGI report in which the institute has stated the drug had caused the deaths. We will seek a detailed report from the PGI after the quality check is done,” said a senior official at the CDSCO. There were eight serious adverse events over a period of 10 days (August 22 to September 1) in the PGI’s neurosurgical operation theatres. After being administered the anaesthetic, all patients reported unexplained hypotension (sudden drop in blood pressure), acute renal injury, followed by anuria/oliguria (production of c m y b no or abnormally small amounts of urine). Of the eight patients, five died, while the rest recovered. Following the adverse events after the administration of Propofol, sealed vials of the anaesthetic were retrieved from operation theatres and sent for analysis to the PGI’s Department of Pharmacology and Department of Medical Microbiology as well as the Sophisticated Analytical Instrumentation Facility, Panjab University. After testing, it was found the Propofol vials contained at least 26 impurities, some of which were highly toxic for human organs and had pH below the range recommended by the Food and Drug Administration. The Department of Medical Microbiology reported the vials were contaminated with burkholderia contaminans (bacteria), known to cause septicaemia (blood poisoning). Septicaemia or sepsis is the body’s extreme response to an infection. As the PGI’s laboratory is not certified with national accreditation board, it has no legal standing. 10 days on run, two brothers held for murder Tribune News Service PROPOFOL DEATHS CDSCO sends samples to Kolkata lab UT LAB REPORT CHALLENGED PAGE 3 Police nab inter-state ‘thief’ involved in more than 100 cases in the tricity, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal. SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 7:05 AM Central drug control body to get anaesthetic tested again Tribune News Service 162 PAGE 3 LAND POOLING POLICY: UT TO STUDY DIFFERENT MODELS Naina Mishra CHANDIGARH 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 PAGE 2 With one section of flyover opened to traffic, a two-hour trial run was done on other section, towards Chandigarh, in Zirakpur on Monday. P2 Erring telcos asked to pay fee by Dec 16 Overhead cables MC drive to continue thereafter Mohali, December 5 The police have arrested two suspects, both brothers, in connection with the murder of Baltana resident Gayatri Devi, 35, by slitting her throat on November 25. The suspects have been identified as Pawan Singh Rana and Jhunu Kumar, residents of Motihari, Bihar. Sources said the police chased the two for 10 days in coordination with Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Accused of slitting Baltana woman’s throat Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 5 The Municipal Corporation has asked erring telecom companies to pay fee within two weeks if they want time to lay underground cables and wires. If the requisite fee is not submitted after all formalities and processes by next Friday (December 16), the drive to remove illegal overhead cables would continue. The firms will first have to get geographic information system (GIS) mapping done and get other clearances before they pay the fee. As of now, two companies are yet to clear their dues for laying of cables. One of these is in the process of getting all approvals and paying Rs 7 crore fee, the other has agreed to deposit around Rs 2 crore with the MC. The third has already cleared all its dues. The issue of removing overhead cables and wires had earlier rocked the House meeting of the Municipal Corporation as councillors had demanded companies be Continued on page 2 and UP police and finally nabbed them in Motihari. The incident came to light when victim’s husband Bahadur, who works at Mahajan Furniture House in Baltana, rang up his mother Rajeshwari, saying Gayatri, a resident of Ekta Vihar, was not responding to his phone calls. Rajeshwari told him she was not at home. Following this, Bahadur reached home and found the door of his room locked from outside. He broke the lock and found his wife lying in a pool of blood with her throat slit. The knife used in the crime, which was cleaned in Continued on page 2