Blockade halves Mitford drug sales

Medicine sales on the Mitford wholesale market dropped over 50 per cent as a marathon blockade over political disputes continued to affect life and business across the country, traders said.
Chemists and druggists' association leaders portrayed the sorry state of business in the lifesaving sector amid the nonstop blockade enforced by the BNP-led 20-party alliance on a seven-point demand that virtually boils down to one-fresh polls.              
Abdul Hai, Vice President of Bangladesh Chemist and Druggist Association (BCDA), said more than 80 per cent regular customers at the Mitford-based 2,500 wholesale drugstores are from outside Dhaka.
"Due to transport problem the majority of customers cannot come to the wholesale market," he said.
According to the BCDA leader, for the blockade, per-day turnover has tumbled to approximately Tk70 million from the pre-blockade amount of Tk150 million.
Robon Ahmed, proprietor of Medicine View store said they do have regular parties from the southern districts but for the last two weeks they had not turned up.
He noted with frustration that their sales had dropped more than 50 per cent and that none could say for sure when the slide could stop.   
Abdus Satter, owner of Bithi Pharmacy, said due to the ongoing blockade some lifesaving medicines manufactured by the leading companies were not available at Mitford market.
MA Hassan, Managing Director, Aristo Pharma, said due to transport problem they were curtailing their production.
He pointed out a twin-problem: manufactured medicines cannot be transported to Dhaka while raw materials remain stuck-up at the port.
According to a source in Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI), due to locations of some factories outside Dhaka, transporting medicines became a problem.
He categorically said: "Drugs for coronary diseases, antibiotics and some other drugs manufactured by leading companies, which are used during surgery, are in short supply at this moment."
Md. Sekandar Miah, a wholesale customer come from Bhola, said: "I come every month to Mitford for purchasing drugs but this time I am here after more than a month."
He adds: "I was waiting for the blockade to be withdrawn, but, as it is uncertain, so I came by launch risking my life."
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