Chandigarh, Oct 14 (IANS): Thousands of chemists shops across Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh remained closed on Wednesday, following the nation-wide shutdown call given by the All India Organization of Chemists and Druggists to protest against the online sale of drugs.
"Over 600 chemists and wholesalers in Chandigarh have kept their shops closed," Chandigarh Chemist Association president Vijay Anand said.
"The association believes that allowing sale of medicine through Internet would not only paralyse the current distribution chain of over eight lakh medicine dealers, supplying drugs to the 125 crore population but would also prove dangerous to the health of common people at large," Anand said.
In Gurgaon, adjoining the national capital, nearly 1,500 chemist shops remained shut.
Across Punjab and Haryana, thousands of chemist shops remained closed.