With a view to provide good quality medicines to the people, the government of Tamil Nadu plans to open pharmacy shops in co-operative sector soon. All the pharmacies will be furnished in most modern style and complying all the norms of drugs and cosmetic rules. Medicines of Allopathy and ISM will be sold through these shops.

The state minister for co-operation, Ko Si Mani, announced the decision of the government in the ongoing session of the assembly.

To begin with, the hundred year old Triplicane Urban Co-operative Society (TUCS) has been assigned to establish five modern pharmacy outlets in the state capital very soon. An amount of Rs 50 lakh has been earmarked for the purpose. TUCS is pioneer in co-operative movement and organized retailing business in the state.

While speaking to Pharmabiz, the joint registrar of the Society, R G Sakthi Saravanan said each outlet will be a pharmacy store for Allopathy and ISM products and they will be sold at discounted rates. The five shops will be functioning in the Society's buildings and they will be complying with all the norms laid down by of drugs control department. The society will start another ten pharmacies in rented buildings in other parts of the city later.

"Initially we will set up the pharmacies in our buildings at Teynampet, Royapetta, Besant Nagar, Kilpauk and Raja Annamalaipuram. All the shops will be air conditioned and qualified pharmacists will be appointed to dispense the drugs. Each outlet will have a budget of Rs 10 lakh. All the five shops will be opened simultaneously in 30 days time," he said.

According to him, the major beneficiaries of the pharmacy shops are the ration card holders in the city as they will get all the essential medicines on reasonable prices. The society has five lakh family card holders. These people will be eligible to get 10 to 15 per cent discount of the MRP of the drugs. Medicines to the shops will be procured directly from the manufacturing companies. There will be no involvement of wholesale traders or stockists.

About Siddha, Ayurveda and Unani drugs, he said they will be purchased from Impcops, the manufacturing society of Siddha doctors in Chennai, and soon TUCS will sign an agreement with Impcops.

Saravanan said the state government plans to start fifty pharmacy shops in co-operative sector through out the state with one each in district headquarters. In other places, respective consumer societies will take the responsibility of establishing the outlets. He added that in the near future, along with other portfolios of the society, it would start online trading also. The pharmacies will function as 24 hours after three months of their inauguration.