Pharmacists Association Protests Non-Pharmacist Panchayat Medicine Shops

Jharkhand pharmacists express discontent over state’s decision to open medicine shops without pharmacists in every panchayat.

JAMSHEDPUR – An effigy of Chief Minister Hemant Soren was set alight at Sakchi Golchakkar on Friday by the All India Pharmacists Association Kolhan Committee.

The symbolic protest was against the state government’s decision to permit the operation of medicine shops in every panchayat without a pharmacist present.

State president of the association, Shashi Bhushan Prasad, raised concerns about public safety, questioning who would bear responsibility if incorrect medicine sales, due to a pharmacist’s absence, resulted in harm to the public.

Kolhan’s in-charge, Piyush Chatterjee, stated that the government’s decision was incongruous with the current landscape where numerous pharmacy colleges are opening across Jharkhand, producing many pharmacists who may now face unemployment due to this rule.

The association’s Kolhan President, Shatrughan Kumar Rai, urged unity among Jharkhand’s pharmacists, pledging to continue the protest until the non-pharmacist license rule for rural medicine shops is scrapped.

The protest saw the participation of approximately 100 district pharmacists, including General Secretary Manas Mukherjee and Vice President Devkant Kumar, and all the members of the committee.