Heavy discounts, old prescriptions and 10-minute deliveries: Why thousands of pharmacies in Telangana are shutting down on May 20
Thousands of pharmacies in Telangana are set to shut down on May 20 due to competition from online medicine delivery platforms. The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists has raised concerns over unfair practices and regulatory issues related to e-pharmacies. Traditional pharmacies argue that the rapid rise of these services threatens their financial viability and patient safety.
- ▪Around 45,000 pharmacies in Telangana are expected to participate in the shutdown.
- ▪The protest is against the practices of e-pharmacies and corporate medicine retail chains.
- ▪Pharmacists claim that online platforms operate with weak prescription checks and inadequate regulatory oversight.
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A 34-year-old IT employee residing in Hyderabad’s Madhapur area uploads an old prescription on a medicine delivery app late at night and receives antibiotics and BP tablets at nearly 30% discount within minutes. A few kilometres away, a neighbourhood chemist in Panjagutta who has run his pharmacy for over three decades says he cannot afford to offer even a fraction of those prices. That growing clash between instant medicine delivery platforms and traditional pharmacies has now erupted into a nationwide call for a shutdown, with thousands of pharmacies across Telangana set to shut on Wednesday, (May 20, 2026).The shutdown call was given by the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), raising concerns over unfair practices by online pharmacies and corporate medicine retail…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Hindu — Top.
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