Around 1,600 chemists and druggists in Ranchi and 18,000 across Jharkhand on Friday kept their shutters down and joined the strike call given by the All India Chemists and Druggists Association (AICDA) in protest of Central Government's new drug policy.
‘We are objecting to the provisions made in Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Act, 2008 as most of them are against the interest of retailers and wholesalers,’ Secretary, Jharkhand Chemists & Druggists Association (JCDA), Amar Kumar Sinha said.
Incidentally, according to Sinha the JCDA has four main demands from the Central Government- no reduction in trade margins as proposed in the new drug policy, not to make mandatory to have qualified pharmacist at the shop, chemist not to be held responsible for spurious drugs FDI in the pharmacy retail.
The JCDA accused the Central Government of playing into the hands of multinational companies by allowing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in pharmacy retail, a stand in sync with All India Chemists & Druggists Association (AICDA) demands. ‘By allowing FDI in pharmacy retail the Government is pitching small retailers against giants in the business,’ said Sinha adding ‘our survival is at stake.’
The JCDA ridiculed the provision of hiring a fulltime pharmacist to monitor drug sales saying ‘he is more suitable to work in a factory than a retail shop’ and that the sales will be affected in his absence. ‘law stipulates medicines sold in the absence of a pharmacist would invite penal actions which puts us in difficult a situation,’ added Sinha.
The protestors are also against any reduction in the profit margin of retailers as sought by the new drug policy.
‘On one hand the manufacturers are allowed to earn 300 percent profit on the manufacturing cost while on the other retailers are being asked to bring it down to the level of 8 to 10 per cent,’ said Sinha. While the strike means a lot of inconvenience to those in need of medicine it also means less revenue for the government. Interestingly, Ranchi’s share in the total medicine sales in Jharkhand is around Rs 150 crore.
The JCDA has threatened to go on indefinite strike if the provisions are not rolled back.