Nearly 700 laboratory animals housed at the Industrial and Toxicological Research Centre's (itrc) Gheru Campus in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, have died overnight of extreme heat. The air-conditioning at the organisation's animal house went on the blink after a major power failure and due to the non-functional generators of the institute. Incidentally, the animal house was supposed to have been built in conformity with good laboratory guidelines.
This Rs 4-crore facility meets the need of the majority of the itrc projects in the field of preventive toxicology, predictive toxicology, analytical toxicology and inhalation toxicology. As these animals were not being used for experiments, no scientific data has been lost. Meanwhile, an enquiry has been initiated into the matter.
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
.png)
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.