The chemists association seems unfazed by the Medical Education and Drugs Department’s decree last Friday, prohibiting the wholesalers and retailers of medical shops to stop work.

The notification, issued under the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA) 2011, states, “Any service connected with maintenance of public health including hospitals and dispensaries is an essential service… therefore, the government of Maharashtra prohibits the strike with immediate effect.”
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will crack down on pharmacists who keep their shops shut, as the MESMA makes it mandatory for them to make medicines available to people at all times, and denies them the right to strike.