The patients faced problems as the chemists and the medicine shops remained closed on Friday in protest against ‘On Line’ sale of medicines. The strike was called as part of the nationwide shutdown call given by the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggist (AIOCD), the all India association of chemists and distributors.
On the day, the owners of the chemist shops assembled at a place on New Road and took out a protest march. The president of district chemists association Sandip Malhotra said that the Union government is continuing with its policy of harassing the chemists.
He said that the efforts of the association to sensitize the people and the government on the dangers lurking in the online trade of drugs have failed and the online players are rampantly violating provisions of the drug act. “No visible action has been taken by authorities,” he said. He further said that the amendments in section 10 and 18 of Indian Drug and Cosmetics Act 1940 should be made to prevent online sale of medicines. The members of the association marched to the office of the district magistrate and handed over a memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.