Deadly Cough Syrup Tragedy: Families Lose Children and Livelihoods in Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal: The families of children who died in Chhindwara after consuming contaminated cough syrup find little solace in government compensation. What value does Rs 4 lakh hold when a child is gone forever? What significance does financial aid have when parents have already sold their homes, jewelry, and sacrificed their dreams trying to keep their children alive?

After initially denying responsibility, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav has announced Rs 4 lakh compensation for each of the 11 children who lost their lives after taking Coldrif Cough Syrup. The government has also committed to covering all treatment expenses for children still hospitalized and fighting for survival.

For the devastated parents in Parasia, however, these wounds cannot be healed with money. Many families have lost not only their precious children but everything they owned in desperate attempts to save them.

Yasin Khan, a 30-year-old auto driver from Parasia, has been sleepless for nights since losing his three-year-old son Usaid. When the child developed a mild fever and cough on August 31, the family consulted Dr. Aman Siddiqui, who prescribed Coldrif Syrup.

"After taking just a few doses, my son began vomiting," Yasin recounted. "His eyes became swollen, his urine output stopped, and he cried constantly in pain. We rushed him first to Chhindwara, then to Nagpur. The doctors informed us his kidneys were failing."

Usaid required dialysis treatment. His father sold his only source of income—his auto-rickshaw—to pay for mounting hospital bills. The family spent over Rs 4 lakh in their desperate battle to save him. "I thought if I could save my son, I could eventually buy another auto," Yasin said quietly. "But now I have no child, no work, and no hope left."

Adding to their tragedy, while Usaid was undergoing treatment in Nagpur, the roof of their home collapsed during heavy rainfall. Neighbors covered it with plastic sheets. When the grieving couple returned with their son's body, water was leaking into every corner of their dwelling.

"We came home carrying his body," his mother said, her voice cracking with emotion. "Everything was gone—our roof, our money, and our beloved son."

Prakash Yaduvanshi sits in his dimly lit two-room house in Parasia, gazing at a framed photograph of his seven-year-old son Devansh. He spent Rs 7 lakh on treatment—money he didn't have. To fund his son's medical care, he mortgaged his small farm, pawned his wife's jewelry, and borrowed from everyone he knew.

"I'm a paralytic patient," he explained, showing his trembling right hand. "My wife has two pending surgeries. We were already struggling financially. When my son fell ill, I thought it was just a common cold. But after the doctor gave him that syrup, his condition deteriorated rapidly."

For 15 agonizing days, Devansh couldn't eat or drink. His body began swelling, his kidneys failed, and dialysis became his only chance for survival.

His mother remembers every painful moment: "The first dialysis session lasted one-and-a-half hours. The next day, three hours. Then five. But we were losing him. On the final day, the doctor told us they had done everything possible."

The family now has nothing left. Prakash says they will seek justice through the High Court.

In Betul district's Amla block, 4-year-old Kabir died on September 8. His father Kamlesh, a small farmer from Kalmeshwar, had taken him to Dr. Praveen Soni in Parasia when the child developed a mild cough. Dr. Soni prescribed Coldrif Syrup. When Kabir's condition worsened, Kamlesh returned to the doctor, who referred him elsewhere. By the time another hospital diagnosed kidney failure, it was too late.

Kabir was transferred from Nagpur to Bhopal, but died during treatment.

"I mortgaged my land for Rs 2.5 lakh," Kamlesh told NDTV. "I believed money could save him. But my money ran out before his breath did," he added with profound sorrow.

Throughout Parasia's narrow lanes, grief hangs heavily in the air. Fathers sit in silent despair while mothers clutch clothing that still carries the scent of their lost children.

"We don't want money," said Usaid's mother, tears streaming down her face. "We want justice for every innocent child who consumed that poison thinking it was medicine."