Prayagraj,

20 May (HS): At the request of the Prayag Chemist Association, most of the

pharmacy stores in Prayagraj remained open, and the proposed closure by the

so-called organization was not supported, as it was against humanity and in the

public interest. Prayag Chemist Association officials held an important meeting

at Dev & Sons, located opposite the Medical Hospital. The traders urged

every shopkeeper to open their shop, which kept the entire market open and

continued to serve patients. The so-called organization forced the closure of

shops by putting up posters at every shop.

When the traders refused to agree to the strike, it was shown that the medical

college was kept out of the strike. Lalu Mittal, President of Prayag Chemist

Association, along with his business colleagues, visited the market and thanked

all the shops for keeping the shops open and said that the medicine business is

not just a business, it is a service.

Patients from faraway states and districts come to our district, and if they

don't get medicine in this extreme heat, it would be a disgrace to humanity and

an injustice to the patients. The Drug Administration also issued a letter

asking all drug dealers to keep their establishments open and warned against

any forced closures. Nevertheless, unnecessary pressure was exerted at some

places. In many major hospitals and markets in the district, retail drug stores

remained open as usual, while at some places they were closed.

No effect of the shutdown was seen in many places like Kamala Nehru Hospital,

Phoenix Hospital, Baik Bagh, Kareli, Atar Suiya, Gaus Nagar, Meerapur, Naini,

Jhunsi, Begum Bazaar, Manori, Phaphamau, Kunda, Lal Gopalganj, Bharawari etc. The

meeting expressed gratitude to the traders for not supporting the strike.

Prominent among those present were Makhanlal Agarwal, Raju Yadav, Neeraj Yadav,

Chacha Ganesh Medical, Vinti Medical, Rahul Yadav, Sudhir, Ravi, Vinod Abhiman,

Rama Medicals, Yadav Chemist, Chhaya Medicals, and many other traders.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi