Expired, Counterfeit Drugs Flood Kaliakair Industrial Hub, Endangering Thousands of Lives
Thousands of unlicensed drugstores are operating unchecked across busy hubs in Kaliakair Upazila, Gazipur, including Chandra, Sofipur, Mouchak, and Harinhati, posing severe risks to over 600,000 local garment workers and residents. Local estimates indicate that out of nearly 1,000 pharmacies in the upazila, roughly 700 to 800 operate without valid licenses or rely on fake documentation. Approximately 80 percent of these medicine shops are run by individuals with only a Class 8 or SSC education, acting as unqualified practitioners who illegally dispense antibiotics, sedatives, and expired medications without prescriptions.
The escalating public health hazard came into sharp focus on Thursday, October 1, when an executive mobile court led by Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) and Executive Magistrate Shamsun Nahar Shila conducted a raid at Sofipur Market. During the drive, authorities discovered expired gastric and pain medications on active display at Roza Medicine Corner, alongside expired insulin and antibiotics stored inside refrigerators at Sagarika Pharmacy. Consequently, the mobile court penalised the two retail establishments with a combined fine of BDT 20,000 for operating with unrenewed licenses and stocking expired pharmaceutical and cosmetic items.
Addressing journalists immediately following the anti-adulteration drive, Executive Magistrate Shamsun Nahar Shila sternly condemned the illicit practices and warned of uncompromising legal action across all commercial areas. ‘Selling expired medicine is playing with human lives; this is not an ordinary offense, but tantamount to culpable homicide,’ stated Ms. Shila. ‘If expired, counterfeit, or adulterated drugs are found in any pharmacy across Kaliakair, the business will not merely face fines; it will be sealed off, and regular legal cases will be filed against the owners’.
Meanwhile, affected consumers and field workers have exposed widespread illegal practices, including the widespread replacement of expiration labels on unsold medicine stock. An anonymous pharmacy employee disclosed earning BDT 8,000 monthly and being instructed by the shop owner to apply new date stickers over expired packages. Illustrating the real-world impact, local garment worker Rina Begum shared that her child suffered severe continuous vomiting after consuming expired fever medicine purchased in Sofipur. Concurrently, local citizens are calling for permanent shop closures, criminal prosecutions, and joint continuous monitoring drives.
