20 May,2026 08:36 PM IST | Mumbai | Abhitash Singh
The protesters raised concerns over regulatory differences between online and offline medicine sellers. Pic/Ashish Raje
The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) on Wednesday called its Mumbai's Azad Maidan protest '100 per cent successful' as it observed a one-day nationwide strike.
According to AIOCD, the May 20 strike saw a strong response across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, with retail chemists claiming the shutdown was a "100 per cent success".
The organisers in Mumbai said that the protest significantly affected pharmacy services across Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, as many medical stores remained closed for the day.
Around 600 chemists and wholesalers from Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and nearby areas gathered at Azad Maidan to protest against the unregulated growth of e-pharmacies and what they called predatory pricing by online medicine platforms.
The protesters raised concerns over regulatory differences between online and offline medicine sellers.
Speaking at the protest site, Sunil Chhajed, General Secretary of the Navi Mumbai Retail Chemists and Wholesalers Association, said the strike saw complete participation from the traditional pharmacy sector.
He said chemists had shut their establishments in support of the protest call.
Chhajed also said that formal demand letters were submitted to police officials at Azad Maidan, which would be forwarded to the state government at Mantralaya for further action.
Chemists participating in the strike demanded a complete halt to what they described as illegal online medicine sales.
They raised concerns over the alleged sale of prescription medicines without valid prescriptions and warned of public health risks.
Retailers also highlighted pricing disparities, claiming that e-pharmacies offer discounts of 30 to 40 per cent, while offline chemists are restricted by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines that cap discounts at around 16 to 20 per cent.
Despite the widespread shutdown of retail pharmacies, hospital-linked medical stores, 24-hour pharmacies and government-run emergency outlets remained operational.
Officials said district FDA control rooms monitored the situation to ensure that essential medicines were available and that critical healthcare services were not disrupted.
