As chemists and druggists across the city kept their shops shuttered on Wednesday in response to a nationwide shutdown call given by the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) and the Punjab Chemists Association (PCA), patients were at the receiving end.
The strike affected the sale of medicines in several parts of the city as a majority of retail and wholesale medicine shops remained shut throughout the day.
Wholesale medicine market Katra Sher Singh witnessed near-complete closure, disrupting the supply chain of medicines to smaller pharmacies and clinics.
Patients, especially the elderly and those requiring regular medication, faced inconvenience due to the shutdown. Several residents were seen moving from one market to another in search of open pharmacies.
Despite the closure, chemists’ associations had issued helpline numbers for emergency requirements and a few select outlets reportedly remained available for life-saving medicines and urgent medical needs.
However, many patients complained that they still had difficulty accessing medicines during the day. They claimed that they were not aware of the protest.
City hospitals witness a large number of patients from rural areas daily, including on the day of the strike. However, on Wednesday, most of them returned empty handed as they could not get the required medicines.
“Now, I will have to visit (the city) again to buy medicines. It is difficult to travel in buses in such heat,” complained Harjeet Singh, an elderly person.
The protest was part of a nationwide agitation by chemists against the functioning of online pharmacies and alleged unfair trade practices. According to Surinder Duggal, president, Punjab Chemists Association, over 12 lakh chemists and drug distributors across the country participated in the daylong shutdown.
Duggal complained that “unregulated” online sale of medicines and deep discounting by large corporate entities were adversely affecting small chemists and posing risks to public health.
He also raised concerns over the alleged misuse of temporary Covid-era relaxations related to online medicine sales. Chemists have demanded the withdrawal of certain notifications related to e-pharmacies, and have sought stricter regulation to ensure a level playing field for traditional chemists.
They claimed that unchecked online sale of medicines without proper verification could lead to the misuse of antibiotics, and repeated use of prescriptions.
Office-bearers of chemists’ associations said the protest was not merely related to business interests, but also linked to patient safety, and the survival of small chemists, particularly those in rural and semi-urban areas.
They warned that if their demands were not addressed by the government, the agitation could be intensified in the coming days.
