All drug stores across the country will remain closed on Thursday, as medicine traders stage a shutdown after the expiry of their two-day deadline for the unconditional release of 20 drug traders who were detained during a mobile court drive on Saturday.
Monir Hossain, deputy secretary of Bangladesh Chemist and Druggist Samity (BCDS), told the Dhaka Tribune that as per the prior declaration by BCDS president Sadekur Rahaman, all drug stores will remain closed from 6am to 10pm on Thursday. A letter was sent on September 30 to the DG of Drug Administration, to press home a 16-point demand, he also said.
As a response to the letter, Director General of drug administration Major General Jahangir Hossain has invited BCDS to a meeting, which will be held on Thursday.
Sources said a small BCDS team will go the DG’s office, but may not join the talks if the DG does not promise to release the detained drug traders and open the sealed stores.
BCDS leader Monir Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune that the drug traders would go on an indefinite strike from next Sunday if their demands were not met.
Sources at the drug administration said the 16-point demand placed by BCDS, includes the immediate release of 20 detained drug traders, opening the sealed drug stores, publishing a gazette with list of illegal drugs, stopping smuggling through borders, stopping doctors from recommending banned medicine in prescriptions, and holding regular mobile court drives against fake medicine producers.
However, Health minister AFM Ruhal Haque told the Dhaka Tribune, any illegal demand will not be considered. He also urged the media to write more reports about the fake drug companies.
Meanwhile, sources informed that drug store owners had already submitted a list to the BCDS office, consisting legal papers for local medicines and legally imported drugs. The store owners told the Dhaka Tribune that the court magistrate and other drug administration officials did not allow the traders to present the legal documents during the drive.
During the mobile court drive on September 28, the magistrate handed over Tk3m in fines at Amir Hossain market.
Mainuddin Medical Hall in the market was fined Tk300,000 (fine memo no 37597). Seeking anonymity, store employees said 85 boxes of the “Power Plus” medicine, which was produced by a local company called Gramo Pharmaceutical, were seized as illegal items.
Messrs. Pharmadil was fined Tk100,000 (fine memo no. 37588) as the store’s license had expired; although the rules suggest that the license can be renewed by paying a small fine to the drug administration.
Arun Drug House was fined Tk100,000 (memo no.37590) for not having any pharmacist in the store, although BCDS leaders claimed that it was not obligatory to have pharmacists present at wholesale stores.
An employee at Haldar Medicine was fined Tk50,000 for allegedly making a phone call during the drive, while the initial fine of Tk200,000 for Esamoti Drug Store was doubled when an employee tried to contact the store owner.
According to the store owner, Alamgir Hossain, Popular Medicine Corner was fined Tk50,000 for keeping universal taste saline – which is legally produced in Pabna – at the store. Hossain also said the traders were treated as thieves and were not given any chance to produce legal papers during the drive.
A mobile court on Saturday seized three truckloads of drugs worth over Tk50m from the market near the Mitford Hospital in Dhaka, arrested 103 people, filed 74 cases, fined over Tk10.25m and sealed 28 stores.
