Pimpri-Chinchwad civic body steps up to do its bit for ailing antibiotics firm

Ten days after Newsline highlighted the plight of the country's first penicillin factory, a dream project of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has decided to do its bit to bail out the ailing pharma PSU.

The PCMC will place orders for seven medicines from Hindustan Antibiotics (HA), Pimpri without calling for tenders.

"As of now, we have decided to purchase seven medicines without tenders," said Municipal Commissioner Shrikar Pardeshi, who added, "Hindustan Antibiotics is a national unit and we will do our best to help it at a time when it is going through a crisis."

On Tuesday, the civic chief held a meeting with HA management, HA union leaders and a couple of local corporators and conveyed PCMC's intention.

On March 4, Newsline reported that HA had run out of cash to pay salary to employees and purchase raw material. The report highlighted how the PCMC medical department had consistently been refusing to purchase medicines from HA or the civic-run YCM hospital. HA officials alleged that whenever they approached PCMC, officials demanded kickbacks including tickets to Singapore.

When Newsline had brought this to the notice of the municipal commissioner on March 3, he had said he was not aware of any such thing, but would do his best during his tenure to help the institute that has given Pimpri Chinchwad global fame.

The death of Gandhiji's wife Kasturba Gandhi in Pune in 1944 of complications that could have been prevented by penicillin is believed to have prompted Pandit Nehru, when he wanted the factory to be set up after Independence, to locate it in Pimpri.

In Tuesday's meeting, HA union leaders cited a government resolution making it mandatory for local self-government bodies to purchase medicines from public sector units. "However, PCMC has never followed this GR," said Arun Borhade, general secretary of HA Majdoor Sangh.

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