Medical shops shutdown near-total in T'gana

A nationwide bandh in Telangana opposing illegal e-pharmacy operations saw nearly all 45,000 medical shops in the state remain closed, except for those attached to hospitals.

The one-day nationwide bandh called on Wednesday opposing illegal e-pharmacy operations was near-complete in Telangana, a state chemists and druggists association said.

Except for small percentage of shops in Hyderabad region, almost all 45,000 medical shops in the state remained closed, T Raju, General Secretary of Telangana Chemists and Druggists Association, told PTI.

The shops that are open would also be closed during the day, he said.

The shut down was called by the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) to oppose illegal e-pharmacy operations and predatory pricing by large corporates.

The Drugs Control Administration (DCA) of Telangana has said in a public advisory that it had held a meeting with AIOCD Telangana Chapter and it was decided to keep pharmacy stores attached to hospitals available to supply medicines.

The district chapters of the AIOCD would be in touch with the Drug Inspectors to make any medicines available from local stores in case of emergency.

In addition, corporate medical stores like Apollo and Medplus have been advised to keep their stores open.

In case of any difficulty regarding the availability of essential or emergency medicines, public can immediately contact the local Durg Inspector or other DCA officials for necessary assistance, it said.

The DCA is monitoring the situation across the state to ensure availability of essential and life-saving medicines, it added.