Bangladesh Chemists and Druggists Samity (BCDS) Leaders have urged the drug traders to keep their shops closed across the country on Thursday pressing for release of detained medicine sellers and opening of drug stores sealed by the mobile court on Saturday on charges of keeping spurious medicines. The medicine traders will keep their shutters down since morning to 10pm, the Samity decided in a meeting on Monday afternoon.
“We have declared the programme protesting the harassment of drug traders by the mobile court,” Monirul Islam, deputy secretary of the Samity, said.
The agitating traders warned the government to keep their shops closed for an indefinite period if their demands are not met.
Meanwhile, drug traders at the country’s biggest medicine hub at Mitford kept their shops closed on Monday and demonstrated for the second day protesting the mobile court’s drive. The traders at Mitford and Babubazar brought out processions and paraded the adjacent areas to press home their demands.
Later in the afternoon, a decision was made to open the sealed shops following a meeting between local administration and business leaders. The decision, however, didn’t yield any result.
In the meantime, sufferings mounted for the patients as well as buyers due to suspension of drug sales in the area.
On Saturday, law enforcers in a six-hour drive, seized drugs worth Tk five crore. Businessmen were fined Tk 1 crore 25 lakh for selling fake and date expired drugs. In addition, 103 people were detained during the operation.
-With The Independent input
