Chandigarh: Availability of essential medicines across Punjab is likely to be severely affected on Wednesday as nearly 27,000 retail and wholesale chemists prepare to keep their shops shut in support of a nationwide strike called by the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists.
The protest has been organised mainly against online sale of medicines and heavy discounting by e-pharmacy platforms, which traditional chemists claim is hurting small neighbourhood pharmacies that are unable to compete with such pricing.
Chemists and druggists argue that unchecked growth of online medicine platforms is threatening the survival of local medical stores and disrupting the existing pharmaceutical retail network.
The shutdown is expected to cause inconvenience to thousands of patients who depend on nearby pharmacies for daily medicines, emergency drugs and life-saving prescriptions.
Retail pharmacy owners said the protest is aimed at drawing the Centre’s attention towards regulating online medicine sales and ensuring fair competition for offline chemists.
