With the December 31 deadline for renewal of pharmacy trade licences approaching fast, around 8,000 medical shops in Uttar Pradesh are facing the prospects of shutdown due to non availability of qualified pharmacists.
Uttar Pradesh has a total of 36,000 wholesale drug dealers and 76,000 retail drug stores. Of 76,000 retail shops, renewal of licences of around 8000 pharmacies is due in December. Rule 65 of Drugs and Cosmetic Rules 1945 mandates sale of drug under the supervision of a registered pharmacist which also involves signing of the bill and stamping of the prescription by the pharmacist and the doctor.
With the shortage of pharmacists in rural areas, 8000 chemists are not able to renew their licences resulting in closure of medical shops which will eventually lead to loss of their livelihood. The closure of thousands of pharmacies will also affect the supply of medicines in rural areas causing severe inconvenience to patients, said Suresh Gupta, general secretary of Chemists and Druggists Federation of Uttar Pradesh.
Its high time, the government of Uttar Pradesh brings in a notification empowering state Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue Restricted Pharmacy Licences (RPL) to unqualified persons, selling drugs for more than 5 years and above, for running retail drug stores in rural areas. It will save livelihood of thousands of local chemists whose shops are at risk of closure, according to Gupta.
As per section 62A of the D&C Rules, the state government can issue such notifications in the wake of shortage of registered pharmacists, he informed.
According to 62A, Restricted Pharmacy Licenses, in Forms 200A and 210A, can be issued subject to the discretion of the licensing authority to dealers or persons in respect of drugs whose sale does not require the supervision of a qualified person.
Earlier Assam government had issued a notification empowering state Food and Drug Administration to issue Restricted Pharmacy Licences to pharmacies. RPL holders used to operate 80 per cent of pharmacies in the state.
Chemists and Druggists Federation of Uttar Pradesh had repeatedly raised issue pertaining to shortage of qualified pharmacists in the state and need for issuance of Restricted Pharmacy Licence with the state government. The federation in July had submitted a memorandum to the government in this regard.
So far nothing has been done to address their issue. Upset with this, the state chemists have decided to carry placard protest highlighting their demands during day-long bandh to be organised by AIOCD on November 23 across the country, said Gupta.