The strike called by All India Chemists and Druggists' Association (AICDA) hit Patna residents partially on Wednesday.
While most shops on Govind Mitra Road - the medicine market hub - remained closed, stores in areas like Boring Road, SP Verma Road, Ashok Rajpath, Kadamkuan remained open.
The strike was called against online pharmacies, who the AICDA alleged, promote the sale and purchase of medicines without prescriptions, which could endanger a patient's life.
The association had also stated the absence of proper quality checks of drugs in online pharmacies as a reason for the strike.
The president of Patna Chemists and Druggists Association, Arjun Kumar Yadav, said: "There are certain drugs which should be kept in refrigerators. If this is not done, it affects their potency. While regular raids are conducted at retail medical stores to check the quality of drugs being sold, there is no system to check the quality of drugs of the online pharmacies. Besides, there are medicines like pregnancy-related pills and sedatives, which are easily available to youngsters through online pharmacies. In retail medical stores, a prescription is required to purchase such medicines."
He went on to claim that the strike was successful in Patna as most of the medicine shops were closed till afternoon.
Patna resident Kundan Kumar (48) said he did not even realise there was a strike on Wednesday and found the required medicines from a medicine shop in the Boring Road area. However, unlike the state capital, the strike affected various other places, including Darbhanga. Drug stores remained closed throughout the day. Prabhat Pansari, the treasurer of Darbhanga Chemists and Druggists Association, said all the 1020 registered medicine shops in the city remained closed on Wednesday. "The strike affected business to the tune of around Rs 25 crore," he said.
Patients were a harried lot in the town. Lalan Yadav of Hayaghat said he did not get medicines for his son, who was suffering from dengue. "All the shops in my area were closed. I tried to find medicines in other areas as well, but in vain," he said.
Furkan Ansari, a resident of Basopatti, voiced a similar concern, stating he did not get medicines for his ailing mother.
