Gurpreet Singh :- Medical stores across Punjab will remain completely closed on May 20 as chemists and wholesale medicine traders join a nationwide strike against the growing online sale of medicines.
Speaking to the media in Ludhiana, Ashok Dabar, president of the Pindi Gali Medical Association, said nearly 27,500 medical store operators and wholesale drug dealers from across the state are expected to participate in the shutdown.
He stated that shopkeepers had already begun registering their protest by wearing black badges while operating their stores. According to him, the protest is aimed at opposing online medicine businesses, which traders claim are adversely affecting traditional pharmacies and raising concerns related to regulation and public safety.
Dabar further said that a protest rally would also be organised on May 20, during which participants would raise slogans against the online sale of medicines and demand stronger safeguards for the retail pharmaceutical sector.
The proposed shutdown is likely to impact medicine supply and retail pharmacy services in several parts of Punjab for the day, as chemist associations prepare for large-scale participation in the agitation.
