Police baton charge protesting medical representatives in Srinagar

Srinagar, Feb 9 (ANI): In a bid to control crowds, security personnel and state police officials baton charged and shot water canons at thousands of medical representatives, who were protesting against the Jammu and Kashmir Government's new drug policy.

Medical representatives were seen marching towards the office of the Divisional Commissioner shouting anti- government slogans.

A protestor, Javed, said the new policy would lead to hundreds losing their jobs which in turn would affect the pharmaceutical industry.

"The undue policing which they have created in the market, they say that this is for the benefit of the people but unfortunately people are not aware what exactly it is. It is for their own benefits that they have created their pharma industries where they will get the manufacturers of their drugs and then get it supplied in the hospitals but at the same time let us tell this government what will happen to our families and what will happen to us because our bread and butter comes from this profession," he said.

In a bid to systematise the drug procurement system, the government has approved and included only 350 medicines in the policy, resulting in the rejection of all other drugs available on the market.

Ever since the state cabinet gave its nod to the drug policy, there have been mixed reactions from experts and stakeholders associated with the pharmaceutical industry.

The state government says the new policy will make it mandatory for doctors to prescribe medicines on the basis of generic name and not the brand name of a pharmaceutical company.

Health experts see it as an effective mechanism to deal with the drug trade which will serve as a cost-effective and efficient procurement, storage and supply management system for drugs. (ANI)