Bhubaneswar: The Utkal Chemists and Druggists Association has announced a statewide shutdown of all medicine shops on May 20 to protest against the growing online sale of medicines.
In a press release, the association strongly opposed the online trade of drugs, stating that it poses a serious threat to the livelihood of thousands of chemists and their employees.
The outfit General Secretary P Satyanarayan and Secretary Prashant Mahapatra said that the Utkal Chemists and Druggists Association represents around 30,000 medicine traders across Odisha, who support nearly 2.5 lakh families. While the online sale of medicines is rapidly increasing, it is pushing traditional drug stores and their employees out of business. They pointed out that selling drugs and cosmetics online is not legal as per existing rules, yet no strict action is being taken by the authorities.
The chemists and druggists have warned that if the government does not take immediate steps to contain online medicine sales, they will be forced to launch further intensified agitations in the coming days.
