Ambala: Patients suffer as chemists go on strike

AMBALA: On the call of national chemists organisation All Indian Organisation of Chemists & Druggists (AIOCD), the chemists in Ambala on Friday stayed on an indicative strike against the central government policies of promoting the online pharmacy companies, and allowing the online sale of medicines.

The district president of Haryana State Organisation of Chemists and Druggist Association (HSCDA) Raj Kumar Sharma told that on the call of AIOCD we are on one-day indicative strike against the e-Pharmacy and we have asked nearly 850 chemists shops in the district to close the shops for today.

The HSCDA district president said, "If the government does not listen to our demands we will not hesitate in going on strike for an indefinite period of time. We have opened one shop in front of both the city and cantonment civil hospitals and all the shops within the nursing homes in the district are also kept open to avoid any serious inconveniences to the general public. Our motive is only to raise our voice against the government policies of online pharmacy and we will not allow this to happen."

On the other side, some of the patients were seen facing inconveniences due to the closure of medical stores as they were not able to get the prescribed market from inside the hospital and also from outside the hospital due to the strike.

Brijender Malhotra, Press coordinator, HSCDA said, “Today all the chemists in the state are on strike and we are opposing the online sale of medicines. Nearly 80 per cent medicines sold online are fake as the chemists are selling same medicines at a margin of nearly 10-15 per cent as per the government rules and policies, but the online companies are selling these medicines at a margin of nearly 50-70 per cent, which is not possible. These online companies are also selling the banned medicines to the youths without any prescriptions including some of the narcotic medicines and also to end a pregnancy, which is very dangerous for our society. The Maharashtra government has acted strictly against these online firms, therefore, the central government must take back the policies of allowing the online sale of medicines. The government is trying to benefit some of the powerful people and targeting the smaller chemists like us.”

Surender Kaur a patient who today visited Ambala Cantonment Civil Hospital for her checkup said, "I am getting myself treated from this hospital, and I am not able to get the medicine prescribed by the doctor. I have come from a faraway place and it is not easy for me to come again, so I will send somebody to get medicine for me."