The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : ESMA invoked against druggists, chemists

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 06, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

ESMA invoked against druggists, chemists

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, APRIL 5. Cracking the whip against the striking druggists and chemists, the State Government invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) today and threatened to cancel their licences if they continued the agitation.

Refusing to budge from their defiant stand, leaders of the Andhra Pradesh Chemists and Druggists Association said they were prepared to surrender en masse the licences of 36,000 members.

The decision came after failure of yet another round of talks between the Government and the association representatives earlier in the day. Left with no other option, the Government invoked ESMA against the druggists and chemists across the State directing them to sell medicines immediately.

The Punjagutta police detained the president and the general secretary of the association — Ghisulal Jain and N. S. Sree Ramulu — along with 15 others on the charge of forcing a medical shop to down the shutter near Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS). The police resorted to a mild lathicharge on the druggists.

Police protection

The bandh by the druggists entered the fifth day disrupting the availability of medicines to patients. Although the pharmacies attached to major hospitals remained open, there was a heavy rush of people while medicines were in short supply.

At a press conference, the Commercial Taxes Minister, Konathala Ramakrishna, said police protection would be provided to shop owners willing to sell medicines. Outlets would be opened in the Government hospitals to sell drugs. Negotiations were also on with departmental stores, super markets and chain of pharmacies run by the corporate hospitals to sell drugs. The Bulk Drug Manufacturers Association had expressed its willingness to supply life saving drugs to the Government outlets.

Licence surrender

Reacting sharply to the Government decision, the association managing committee members — Vivek Jain, Mahesh Agarwal and Arvind Kumar Agarwal — told reporters that they were not deterred by ESMA. They said the association would not withdraw the strike unless the Government conceded its demand to implement VAT on a single point.

Court moved

The High Court asked the Government to inform it by tomorrow of the steps taken by it to deal with the indefinite strike. Dealing with two writ petitions, a Division Bench, comprising the acting Chief Justice Bilal Nazki and Justice G. Yethirajulyu, felt that this was a serious situation and directed the Advocate-General to report by Wednesday.

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