Cough Syrup Row: Tamil Nadu swift, Madhya Pradesh lags

Cough Syrup Row: Tamil Nadu swift, Madhya Pradesh lags

Tamil Nadu acted swiftly, testing, confirming, and banning the suspected cough syrup batch within just 24 hours, demonstrating decisive action. In contrast, Madhya Pradesh authorities remain stalled, still “awaiting reports,” prolonging uncertainty and raising questions about delayed accountability and oversight.

Cough Syrup Tragedy: Tamil Nadu Acts Swiftly as Madhya Pradesh Stalls

In Madhya Pradesh, grief hangs heavy over families who have lost their children to what they allege is a tragedy caused by cough syrups. Nine children have died so far, with parents claiming the syrups ‘Coldrif’ and ‘Nextros DS’ — prescribed for common symptoms like cough and fever — triggered a series of deadly reactions.

Almost every story is heartbreakingly similar. A child would develop a mild fever, be taken to a neighborhood clinic, and be prescribed one of the syrups. But within days, things took a terrifying turn. First came vomiting and diarrhea, then the sudden inability to urinate — a classic sign of Diethylene Glycol (DEG) poisoning, a toxic chemical that has been responsible for multiple medicine-related tragedies worldwide.

For many parents, the nightmare felt eerily familiar. Just two years ago, in 2022, DEG-contaminated syrups imported from India were linked to the deaths of dozens of children in The Gambia, drawing global outrage. The same shadow now hangs over Madhya Pradesh.

Tamil Nadu Moves Within Hours

What’s striking is the contrast between how two states responded once the issue came to light.

On October 1, Tamil Nadu’s Drugs Control Department received an urgent letter from Madhya Pradesh officials. The letter flagged Coldrif Syrup, batch SR-13, manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceuticals in Kanchipuram district.

It was a government holiday, but officials in Tamil Nadu did not wait. By the same evening, a team of inspectors had already reached the Sresan Pharmaceuticals facility. What they found was deeply alarming: 39 critical and 325 major violations of drug manufacturing and laboratory practice rules.

Inspectors immediately drew samples of Coldrif and four other syrups. They froze every available stock inside the factory and rushed the samples to the Chennai government laboratory with clear instructions to test specifically for DEG and ethylene glycol contamination.

Tamil Nadu didn’t stop there. A statewide alert was issued that very night, warning all drug inspectors to track down and freeze every last stock of the suspect batch across wholesalers and retailers. Distribution records were combed through, and alerts were even sent to neighboring Odisha and Puducherry, where the syrups had also been shipped.

By October 3, just two days after the first alert, the Tamil Nadu government had slapped the manufacturer with a stop-production order in the public interest. A show-cause notice was served for the cancellation of its license, and the public was urged to report any remaining bottles of Coldrif to local authorities. The message was clear: protect lives first, investigate later.

Madhya Pradesh Still “Awaiting Reports”

Meanwhile, in Madhya Pradesh — where the tragedy began and where children had already died — officials appeared stuck. Even as Tamil Nadu moved rapidly to contain the danger, Madhya Pradesh authorities said they were still “awaiting reports” on the syrups.

For grieving parents, that delay feels unbearable. Their children were fine one day, gone the next. Many say they trusted their local clinics, never imagining that something as ordinary as cough syrup could carry death inside it. The state’s slow response has only added to their anguish, raising questions about whether lives might have been saved had action been faster.

The tragedy has echoes of India’s long and troubling history with cough syrup contamination. Diethylene Glycol is a cheap industrial solvent sometimes misused in place of pharmaceutical-grade glycerin during drug production. It is highly toxic, damaging the kidneys and leading to the exact symptoms seen in Madhya Pradesh’s children.

Experts have long warned about lapses in quality checks at smaller pharmaceutical companies. Yet time and again, India has been shaken by DEG-related deaths — from the infamous Uttar Pradesh poisoning of 1998, to more recent cases in Jammu and Gambia. Despite repeated tragedies, systemic loopholes persist.

The events of this past week highlight the stark difference in regulatory response. Tamil Nadu’s system showed how fast, decisive action can potentially save lives: inspectors working on holidays, labs given urgent instructions, interstate alerts dispatched within hours.

Madhya Pradesh, by contrast, stands accused of dragging its feet, even as children continued to die. Families there want accountability, not bureaucratic delays. Their question is painfully simple: if another state could act in a day, why not ours?

What Comes Next

As investigations continue, the spotlight will remain firmly on both the pharmaceutical company and the regulatory systems that allowed such a crisis to unfold. For the families in Madhya Pradesh, no inquiry or punishment will bring back their children. But they hope their tragedy will spark reform — real reform — so that no other parent has to endure the same loss.

Because at the heart of this story are not policies or procedures, but children who should have been safe taking a simple spoonful of syrup.