Telangana: City chemists abstain from bandh against e-pharmacies

Hyderabad: Chemists and retail pharmacists in Greater Hyderabad are not going to be part of the bandh called by the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists as they state that the Central and state-level bodies have not been able to solve the ‘local’ problem of retail chemists. 

They oppose the e-pharmacies but will not be a part of the all-India strike proposed on September 28. 

The Telangana Chemists Association has called for a bandh of chemists in the state. Referring to the local problem that they feel has been ignored by state and central pharma associations, Kishan Murari Shetty, general secretary of the Greater Hyderabad Retail Medical Shops Association, said, “The unfair trade practice of selling medicines directly to patients has been adopted by manufacturers and their distributors, which is a great loss to retailers. This issue was raised from time to time by our organisation but neither the drug controller nor our central body has been able to sort it out. We oppose e-pharmacies but are not going to participate in the bandh as our local problems have been prevailing for long and there is no respite despite providing support to the main body from time to time.”The retail sector is experiencing the financial onslaught not only from multinational companies but also local corporate pharma companies. 

The business at conventional pharmacies will reduce substantially further by the introduction of e-pharmacies. 

The business at conventional pharmacies will reduce substantially further by the introduction of e-pharmacies. 

A senior chemist, on condition of anonymity, explained, "The stockists and distributors are going to be affected badly with the introduction of e-pharmacies hence they are opposing it. But what about the problems of the retailers who have already been marginalised? That has not been addressed at all."