Pharmacists protest in CM’s city

Tribune News Service

Karnal, August 18

Hundreds of pharmacists from Haryana on Sunday held a state-level protest here in support of their demands and staged dharna outside the CM’s camp office for around three hours.

They are demanding a pay band of Rs 4,600, recruitment of deputy director (pharmacy). The post is lying vacant for the past several years. Besides, they also demanded that B.Pharma degree should be the basic qualification for the recruitment of pharmacist in government job.

They handed over a memorandum to Hawa Singh, Naib Tehsildar, for Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. They were adamant on a meeting with the Chief Minister so that they could raise their issues with him.

After the assurance of a meeting with the CM on August 21, the pharmacists under the banner of Association of Government Pharmacists Haryana lifted their blockade.

They warned that if their demands are not met after the meeting with the CM, they would go on mass casual leave from August 26.

Vinod Dalal, state president of the association, led the protest. The protesting pharmacists assembled at Jat dharmshala. They took out a protest march towards the CM’s camp office where they were stopped by the police.

When they were not allowed to gherao the CM’s camp office, the protesting pharmacists staged a dharna near the camp office.

Dalal said that their demand of a pay band of Rs 4,600 had already been accepted by Health Minister Anil Vij and CM Khattar, but it was not implemented as the Finance Department has not been giving its nod to it.

“We are demanding strict implementation of the Pharmacy Act 1948 under which only qualified pharmacists can store and distribute medicines. The government should sanction new posts of pharmacists at the sub-centre level,” he said.

The government should allow pharmacists to do a bridge course for the post of Community Health Officer, he demanded.