DERA GHAZI KHAN-The retailers and wholesalers of medicines have started overcharging the consumers following the so-called drugs’ shortage created through hoarding and blackmarketing.
Kareem Khan, a resident of Basti Yaroo, had to visit a number of medical stores in the city to purchase tablet “Frisium” but remained failed. “My two years old son is suffering from Epilepsy (fits) over a longer time and gets relief only after taking the aforesaid tablet. However, all medical stores say companies are not supplying the tablet,” he said.
At a medical store, Kareem with rolling tears on his cheeks told The Nation that according to the doctor’s advice and prescription, one tablet in a day was very necessary to control fits, even missing of dose of one time is strictly prohibited.
Kareem disclosed he went to some medical stores which were selling the tablet at 20 times extra price. The actual price of one pack of the tables is Rs234.27 but the shopkeepers are selling it at Rs5,000 to Rs7,000 per pack, he said. The overcharging was continued for the last six months or more, he said. To a question, Kareem said once he protested against overcharging but to no avail.
However, Kareem is not the only citizen who suffered because of the unavailability of medicines in the market. There were many other disappointed patients seeking medicines like tablets “Panadol-CF”, “Actifed-P” and Injections “Engerix-B”, “Lasix”, Syrup “Incremin” and Injection Solu Cortef 100mg, 250mg, 500mg, Suspension “Rimactal” Injection “Syntocinon” and table/syrup “PZA Ciba 500” and tablet “AZM” of Ethical Laboratories (Pvt) Ltd.
The owner of Al-Hamad Medical Store, Hafiz Majeed, said local distributors gave limited quantity of medicines to the medical store owners which have become one of the main reasons of the shortage. Though some medicines were short in the market but on the other end, some owners are black marketing with a sufficient stock of these medicines in their stores.
“Injections Engerix-B is the best medicine for patients having Hepatitis B problems but these are also not available in the market. People are ready to pay four times more that the actual price but they cannot get it,” he said. Customers at medicine markets said it was the responsibility of the district government and the regulatory bodies to ensure the availability of medicines. “However, it seems now even medicines will be sold in the black market,” they said.