Nagaland Medicine Dealers Association calls off protest

DIMAPUR — The Nagaland Medicine Dealers Association (NMDA) on Wednesday called off its protest and agreed to open their shops on humanitarian ground after the state concerned authority assured to look into the matter.

This came a day after the association announced that all medical dealers under it would close their shops from March 29 as a sign of protest against the alleged “unlawful arrest” of its members.

It said a member was arrested on March 27 under The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, “in violation of the procedure prescribed by law”.

However, the NMDA had a joint meeting with the Drug Control Section of the Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday, wherein the officials “agreed to take the matter to the higher authority for deliberation and discussions”.

In a press release, the NMDA stated that it will not accept any inspection by any agencies without the presence of officials from the Drug Control Section of the Health and Family Welfare department, which is in accordance with the law.

During the meeting, the officials assured the NMDA to look into their demands, following which the aggrieved party decided to lift the closure of medicine shops in the state from today, March 30.

While expressing hope that the authority will fulfill its demands by April 2, the NMDA said that it would approach All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) NE Zone office to intervene and take due course of action north-east wide, if the concerned authority fail to act on its assurance.

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, AIOCD Northeast Zone stated that it had taken “serious note” of the arrest of a medicine dealer in Dimapur under the NDPS Act 1995.

‘We request the government to stop the harassment of our members in Nagaland by settling the present issue with NMDA, which is the affiliated body of AIOCD.

‘If the harassment of the members continue and the issue is not settled , we have no other alternative except to stop selling all the Narcotic and Psychotropic drugs through the Northeastern states, which will lead to shortages and other agitation,’ it said.