Nationwide pharmacy bandh call: Poor response; medical stores stay open in city

Chemists and druggists extend support by sporting black bands

Mysore/Mysuru: The 24-hour pharmacy bandh called by All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) received a poor response in Mysuru as majority of  pharmacies functioned as usual this morning.

While only a few of the medical shops affiliated to AIOCD have closed their businesses in protest, the rest were doing business as usual.

The Karnataka Pharma Retailers and Distributors’ Organisation (KPRDO) had clearly stated that it would support the decision of closing the pharmacies, but instead, it extended symbolic support with chemists sporting a black band around their arms in support of the protest.

Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, Mysore District Chemists and Distributors Association President S. Manjunath said that there are 3,000 medical shops in Mysuru and only a few chemists under AIOCD had shut their businesses in extending their support to the strike.

“We have not shut our shops as closing the business will cause a lot of inconvenience to the patients and we are classified as essential commodities under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. There are different ways to protest and air our grievances, shutting the shops will not find any solutions to the issue,” he added.

Manjunath said that the Association was also against the online sale of medicines and added that nearly 13 percent to 17 percent of medicines were sold online.

“Despite the presence of online sales, nearly 80 percent of medicines are dispensed through medical shops. We have been protesting against the online sales where medicines are allegedly dispensed without prescriptions from doctors. The Department of Food Safety and Drugs Administration has also been initiating measures to curb such online sales,” he added.

It may be recalled that the Pharmacy Associations had called for a 24-hour bandh of medical shops in protest against the unauthorised online medicine trade, unsustainable discounts, sale of fake, expired and substandard medicines through online channels, unfair practices posing a threat to pharmacy retailers and distributors. The pharmacists have also demanded strong enforcement against violators and unethical practices.