Pharmacies across Nagaland are expected to participate in a one-day nationwide bandh on May 20, following a call by the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), with the Nagaland Medicine Dealers Association (NMDA) confirming statewide participation from 6 am to 6 pm.
What is the bandh about?
According to the NMDA, the protest is centred around what it describes as growing threats to both the pharmaceutical trade and public health.
The association says its concerns are not limited to business losses alone, but also include patient safety, fair competition, and regulation.
The key issues behind the protest:
Illegal or unregulated e-pharmacies
One of the biggest concerns raised is the operation of online pharmacies that allegedly sell medicines without proper prescription checks.
According to chemist bodies, this can lead to:
- Sale of medicines without valid prescriptions
- Misuse or reuse of prescriptions
- Easy access to antibiotics
- Unregulated sale of habit-forming drugs
Heavy discounting by large corporate players
Another major issue is pricing.
The association alleges that large corporate chains or online platforms often offer deep discounts that small and medium local pharmacies cannot compete with.
Their argument:
This creates an uneven playing field where small chemists, particularly in towns and districts, may struggle to survive.
In a state like Nagaland, where many communities rely on local pharmacies for everyday medicine access, smaller chemists argue that their survival is also part of healthcare accessibility.
Covid-era government notifications
The association has also raised concerns over certain government notifications introduced during the Covid-19 period, which it says continue to affect pharmacy operations.
While not all technical details are immediately clear to the public, the larger demand appears to be a review of policies that chemists believe are no longer appropriate or fair.
Will all pharmacies close?
Not entirely.
In Nagaland, pharmacies attached to government hospitals, private hospitals, and nursing homes will remain exempted in order to handle emergency medical needs.
This means:
- Emergency medicine access should continue through hospitals
- Standalone pharmacies and many retail chemist outlets may remain shut during bandh hours
