Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has put in place comprehensive arrangements to ensure uninterrupted access to emergency, life-saving, and essential medicines across the state during nationwide bandh called by the All-India Organization of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) on Wednesday.
Patients and caregivers can obtain medicines from the following outlets and facilities, which will remain functional:
>> Niramaya Centres in all Government Health Institutions, operating under the supervision of Chief District Medical & Public Health Officers (CDM & PHOs).
>> Medicine stores located inside hospital campuses.
>> All Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs), which will function normally.
>> In-house pharmacies and 24×7 medicine stores attached to hospitals and clinical establishments.
>> Corporate-run chemist shops not affiliated with the AIOCD, which are expected to operate as usual.
The Health department also directed drug inspectors and assistant drugs controllers across the state to ensure uninterrupted supply of essential medicines. Officials were instructed to coordinate with wholesalers and distributors to ensure adequate advance stocks.
Local chemist associations have been requested to support uninterrupted supply during emergencies. Chemists in remote and rural areas have specifically been advised to facilitate advance dispensing of medicines for patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, cardiac ailments, epilepsy, cancer, and other serious illnesses.
The direction came after the Utkal Chemists and Druggists Association (UCDA) announced to join the one-day strike with more than 30,000 chemists across Odisha expected to down shutters.
Background of the Bandh
The strike by AIOCD, which represents nearly 12.4 lakh chemists, pharmacists and drug distributors across the country, is expected to affect medicine supply for the day in several parts of India. The protest is aimed at drawing attention to regulatory gaps, which according to it, have allowed e-pharmacies and instant medicine delivery platforms to operate without adequate oversight.
The association has demanded that the government withdraw two notifications — GSR 220(E) and GSR 817(E).
It argues that these provisions have effectively allowed online pharmacies to function in a legal grey area, without a comprehensive regulatory framework governing how they verify prescriptions, dispense medicines and are held accountable for violations. It has also criticised the aggressive deep-discounting strategies employed by large corporate-backed e-pharmacies. Discounts exceeding 50 per cent, according to the AIOCD, create an uneven playing field and pose an existential threat to small, traditional pharmacies across the country.
