Allegation of harassment on issue of lockdown pass, pharmacy – clinic closed
পাস ঘিরে নিগ্রহের অভিযোগ, ফার্মেসি-ক্লিনিক বন্ধ

April 20: Amid the coronavirus crisis and the resultant lockdown in India, only essential services including grocery, pharmacy etc. were directed to remain open following the principles of social distancing. In Silchar too, passes were issued by the administration to those involved in providing essential services to the people. However, there were several allegations by the retail and wholesale medicine stores that their employees were being harassed on their way to duty. On Monday, the Medicine Distributors and Pharmacy Owners decided to keep their stores shut. This has landed the common people in deep trouble. With prescriptions in their hand, many are searching deliberately for medicines but in vain.

On 29 March, 2020, a meeting of the Medicine Distributors and Pharmacy Owners of Cachar District was held with the Deputy Commissioner in presence of Silchar MP Dr. Rajdeep Roy. The distributors and pharmacy owners informed that they were authorised in the meeting to issue pass to their staff in their official pad. Accordingly, they issued the same to their staff and also provided them with identity cards. However, they alleged that inspite of this, their staff are randomly chased and harassed by the police personnel. Out of fear of being bashed by the police, the employees have stopped coming for duty.

It is in this context that the Medicine Distributors and Pharmacy Owners of Cachar District have kept their stores closed as it has become difficult to run the stores without employees. In this connection, they have decided to meet the Deputy Commissioner, Cachar on Monday evening and seek her intervention. Expressing anguish, one such pharmacy owner said, “In such circumstances, it has become difficult to motivate our staff to continue their duties and in their absence the services which we are extending were affected.”

Another octogenarian pharmacy owner of Silchar town said, “We, the Medicine Distributors and Pharmacy Owners of Cachar District have tried our best to maintain the supply of Life Saving Drugs including Insulin, Vaccines, Baby Products and Medical Consumables. We feel that all the Pharmacy/Chemists have put their life at risk and ensured that no Prescription of the Doctors gets dishonoured or the common Patients suffer. But now, if our employees are harassed, then it will not be possible to offer our services.”

The Medicine Distributors and Pharmacy Owners of Cachar District have raised the demand that the dignity of their bonafide staff should be protected. They also will ask the Deputy Commissioner to find out a plausible solution to this problem so that their employees are not harassed by the police personnel and they should be allowed to continue in dignified manner for the sake of common people and patients.