Students of Government Pharmacy Institute, Agamkuan, on Monday staged a daylong dharna outside their institution demanding that the state government ensure the presence of a pharmacist at every retail medicine shop.

The students claimed that the government’s failure to implement the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, which mandates every retail medicine shop to have a pharmacist, had denied them job chances.

“According to the Bihar Pharmacy Council, around 23,400 pharmacists are registered with it. But the number of retail shops registered in the state is 32,000. The mismatch clearly indicates that many retail drug stores do not employ pharmacists. However, the situation could have been better had the government intervened in this matter and punished the retail drug stores for not employing pharmacists. The Drug and Cosmetics Act, 1940, clearly states that there should be a pharmacist at every retail medical stop but this rule is being flouted,” said Rajesh Gaurav, a student of the Government Pharmacy Institute, Agamkuan. “The fact that many retail medicine shops sell drugs without pharmacists puts patients’ lives at risk. Drugs are not like chocolates that could be sold without supervision,” added Gaurav.

Diwakar, another pharmacy student, said: “Our college is grappling with so many problems, including infrastructure problem and faculty crisis. At present, there are three permanent teachers and eight on contract. Our principal does not have a pharmacy degree and is not even a permanent employee. The Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has denied accreditation for the BPharma course to our college.”

Divya, another student, said: “Practical classes are not held at our college. We attend only theory classes. Even if we get our degrees, who would give us jobs after knowing that we don’t have practical knowledge?”

Denying the allegations, state drug controller Hemant Kumar Sinha said: “There was no crisis of pharmacists in the state and there was a pharmacist attached with every registered medicine shop.” But he agreed that these qualified people were found missing during inspections. “Action is taken in such cases,” he said.