Mysuru: Nanjangud pharmaceutical company prepares to reopen

MYSURU: Two months after the firm became the talk of the town, Jubilant Generics, the pharmaceutical company at the heart of the cluster outbreak in Nanjangud, Mysuru district, is set to reopen. Seventy-two of Mysuru district’s 92 Covid positive cases are linked to the firm.
On Monday, a handful of employees and members of an agency which offers disinfection services were allowed into the facility to put safety measures in place. The government has already permitted the firm to reopen, but it would take a couple of weeks for the firm, which manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredients, to resume operations fully.
The district authorities have formed a committee comprising the Nanjangud tahsildar, police inspector and representatives of District Industries Centre, Department of Factories and Boilers and Karnataka State Pollution Control Board to ensure the firm adheres to guidelines.
Under the guidance of the local administration, the company too is working closely with its employees, their families and the community around the facility to chart the way forward.
Nanjangud tahsildar said the district deputy commissioner has formed a separate committee to carry out joint inspections and to submit a report on the measures taken by the firm to ensure safety of employees and visitors.
Meanwhile, authorities have still not found the source of the infection at the plant. While several theories were floated and investigated – including testing containers of raw material which arrived from China for the virus – none were found valid.
Seven foreign nationals from three countries, who had visited the firm earlier this year, were also ruled out as the source of the infection. Authorities then focused on an employee who had visited Kerala as the possible source. But here too, they drew a blank.