Bhubaneswar: Medicine shops across Odisha are set to remain closed on May 20 as the Utkal Chemists and Druggists Association joins a nationwide shutdown called by the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) against the unregulated growth of e-pharmacies and deep discounting practices.
The protest raises concerns over patient safety, threats to traditional retail pharmacies, and the alleged misuse of COVID-era regulatory relaxations.
In a press release, General Secretary P Satyanarayan and Secretary Prashant Mahapatra emphasised that while online sales are expanding rapidly, they are pushing traditional drug stores and their employees out of business, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas where local pharmacies serve as the primary point of healthcare access. They noted that selling drugs and cosmetics online violates existing rules, yet authorities have taken no strict action.
The association, representing around 30,000 medicine traders, has strongly opposed online trade of drugs, describing it as a serious risk to livelihoods and public health. It has also warned of intensified agitations in the coming days if the government fails to take immediate steps to regulate or contain online medicine sales.
Nationally, the AIOCD, representing over 12.4 lakh chemists and distributors, has announced the one-day shutdown to protest unregulated online sales, which it claims enable delivery without proper prescription verification, reuse of old prescriptions, and easier access to antibiotics and habit-forming drugs.
The association has raised alarms about AI-generated fake prescriptions potentially fuelling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and criticised the continuation of temporary COVID-era provisions under notifications like GSR 220 (E), which facilitated doorstep delivery of medicines. It is also demanding the withdrawal of GSR 817(E), linked to e-pharmacy operations, to enforce proper safeguards under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
AIOCD president J S Shinde and general secretary Rajiv Singhal described the issue as one of patient safety rather than just trade concerns, warning of intensified agitation if demands are not met before May 20. They have assured that emergency medicines would remain available in several areas during the shutdown.
Retail pharmacists further argue that aggressive discounting by large corporate-backed e-pharmacy platforms is threatening the survival of neighbourhood chemists. The national body estimates that nearly five crore people dependent on the pharmaceutical trade could be affected.
Patients are advised to stock essential routine medicines in advance to minimise inconvenience on May 20.
