Pharmacists show unity, keep shops shut in Barnala

Tribune News Service

Barnala, September 28

In support of the nationwide strike called to protest the online sale of medicines, chemist shops remained closed in the district on Friday. Though chemists succeeded in showing unity by keeping a majority of the shops closed, it caused inconvenience to patients, who said they faced problems without any fault.

As per the figures provided by the Chemists’ Association Barnala, around 500 shops remained closed in the district and caused losses of lakhs. They protested and submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, Dharam Pal Gupta.

“The online sale of medicines will lead to drug addiction in the state as addicts will start purchasing drugs online. The drug mafia will also take its advantage by creating fake IDs on the Internet,” said Rakesh Kumar, a Barnala-based chemist.

The chemists said the online sale of medicines could not be checked by the state Health department, which lacked the latest equipment to scan all e-mails sent to various medicine companies. They also alleged that the chemists sell medicines only to those who have the prescriptions of doctors.

“Neither the government nor the chemists faced any problems. The strike caused problems to patients without any fault. The government should make some arrangements so that patients do not face problems during strikes in future,” said Kulwant Singh, a relative of a patient.

Some patients said though the Jan Aushadhi Centre (JAC) at the Barnala Civil Hospital was opened, it did not have all medicines.

“Of the total three prescribed medicines, only one medicine was available at the JAC. The state government should ensure the availability of all medicines at the JAC,” said Karmjit Kaur, a patient.