Chemists in Goa have decided to join in the nation-wide day-long strike to protest the Central government's decision to allow medicines to be sold online.
The 1,000-odd member strong Chemists and Druggists Association of Goa has announced that all their member pharmacies will remain closed on October 14.
"We are going on one-day strike in solidarity with eight lakh chemists across the country," said Prasad Tamba, the president of the association.
In Goa the strike will be effective from October 13 midnight and will affect about 750 retail chemists and over 200 wholesale druggists.
Chemists fear that the online dispensing of medicines will lead to misuse of drugs. "A chemist can physically verify the doctor's prescription and further advise patients. Online prescriptions can be prone to fraud," he said, adding that personal relationship between the patient and the pharmacist is a crucial part of the medical ecosystem.
Allowing online sale of all medicines would render over two crore people jobless, he said.
