During this distressing time, dealers are taking undue advantage of the situation by increasing the prices of masks and sanitizers, thereby cheating the customers.

A team of 25 people have been deployed in the big cities like Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat, and Rajkot. 355 medical shops are under investigation and a total of 73 shops have been identified for it’s black marketing. Those shops have been shut down immediately and the case is being inquired. A ‘show-cause’ notice has been slapped on them.

During the investigation, two different brands of sanitizers were found to be fake. One of them was Backrub Hand Sanitizer which is manufactured by Hyziene, Makarpura and another is H.K Hand Sanitizer which is manufactured by Khodal Chemicals, Odhav, Ahmedabad. These unlicensed companies have sold a large number of sanitizers.

Samples of 10 sanitizers have been collected from the market and sent to the laboratory for testing. Under the breach of Drugs and Cosmetics Act, a thorough investigation will be done in this matter.

Food and Drug Department Commissioner, Dr. H.G Koshia had a meeting with the manufacturers of masks and hand sanitizers and have asked them to keep manufacturing the products round the clock. The Food and Drug Department will extend any help that will be required by the manufacturers.