Morung Express News
Dimapur | May 15
Life-saving drugs and other medicines are running out of stock in most of the pharmacies and drug stores in Dimapur as transporters have refused to carry medicines into the State due to “tax” imposed by a certain underground faction. Sources said transporters have stopped carrying medicines into Nagaland for the past fifteen days in protest against the monthly so-called “tax” demanded by an underground faction from the transporters.
“Most of the pharmacies here in Dimapur and other districts are running out of medicines and many life saving drugs cannot be replenished due to the transporters’ protest,” Nagaland Medicine Dealers Association (NMDA) general secretary Basu Damani told mediapersons. “We tried our best to persuade the transporters to come to a compromise and resume transportation of medicines, but to no avail. The transporters said they cannot pay extra tax to any faction,” the NMDA general secretary said.
Damani said if the stalemate continues for another week, all pharmacies and drug stores in the State would face force-closure due to unavailability of medicines. Anticipating a grave situation in the coming days, NMDA president Ato Yepthomi today informed the district administration about the crisis and urged the administration to take immediate steps to ensure normal supply of medicines into the State. Meanwhile, a couple of pharmacies in Dimapur said their medicine-stock have been reduced to almost fifty percent in the past two weeks since they were not replenished. “Many customers who come asking for brand-specific medicines have either to go back empty-handed or buy similar medicines of other companies due to non-availability,” a pharmacist said.
