Lately, we have been witnessing a mushrooming of the medical stores across Kashmir and the question of effective regulation comes to mind. There is a need for the concerned department to increase the monitoring of all such establishments that are coming up in Srinagar and elsewhere in Kashmir. There are such instances where some of the medical stores are providing medicines to people without even seeking the required prescription from them.
There are clear cut directives from the administration that certain drugs are only to be given after an authentic and genuine prescription is produced by the customers and on top of that, the medical stores need to keep a record of who brought and consumed such drugs. While many are doing that, there are still a few that do not comply with the norms and regulations and are resorting to violations.
While the concerned department has already started a drive to ensure that drug dealers are adhering to the norms, there is still a need for intensifying the same particularly in the rural areas of Kashmir where people are less aware of such norms. There, the concerned department might also consider carrying out an effective awareness campaign for the public as well as for the people who are associated with the sector. There is a need for carrying out both things: enforcement as well as the awareness so that people are aware of what they need to do and what not to!
