“We have an acute shortage of inputs and
packaging materials. We are not being able to dispatch the medicines
because of the strike. The storerooms are over-stocked. We will have to
shut down the production units in a week’s time as our stock of raw
materials will get exhausted,” said Ravindra Chakila, the plant head of
Alkem in Sikkim.
Yesterday,
representatives of all 14 pharmaceutical companies submitted a
memorandum to the Sikkim minister of state for commerce and industries,
Neeru Sewa, requesting him to provide police protection to trucks that
bring raw materials to the factories and transport the medicines to
Siliguri for distribution elsewhere.
Binod Nigam, the
plant head of Indchemie Health Specialities Pvt Ltd, said: “We have
information from our distributors that the drugs used to treat diabetes,
cardiovascular diseases and pregnancy-related drugs, including
antibiotics, are running out of stock.”
According to
sources, some of the bigger units in Sikkim manufacture drugs worth over
Rs 30 crore a month while the smaller ones produce medicines worth
around Rs 8 crore.
“Medicine flow
will be hit if the matter is not taken up seriously. The pharma units
are likely incur heavy loses once production is stopped,” a pharma unit
head said.
Minister Sewa said the letter from the medicine factory representatives had been forwarded to the chief secretary.
“The state police
department will be requested to provide additional protection (to the
trucks). Arrangements can also be made for the trucks to ply along with
the government buses,” a senior government official said.
Source : Telegraph
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