Bengaluru drug stores down shutters

Bengaluru: Drug stores in Bengaluru downed shutters for a day-long strike on Tuesday in line with a call for a nationwide shutdown by the All-India Association of Drug store owners to protest against the unfettered operations by online sellers of pharmaceuticals and medicines.

The strike began at midnight Monday till midnight Tuesday. The shops will reopen on Wednesday.

The striking medical shop owners gathered at the Town Hall for a protest organised by the Bruhat Bengaluru Chemists’ and Druggists’ Association. Speakers at the rally protested strongly against the mushrooming of online sellers, claiming that the online sellers were resorting to predatory pricing, offering high discounts, thereby drawing customers away from medical stores.

What is more, they claimed that the unethical practices by online sellers would not only hit the neighbourhood medical shops, but take away the livelihood of 1.5 crore people, as more than 50 lakh people were employed in neighbourhood drug stores across the country.

Hotels stay shut to protest GST flaws
Hotels in Bengaluru stayed shut on Tuesday to protest the government’s planned tax hike of 12 per cent. The Bengaluru Hoteliers Association has termed the proposed hike as ‘draconian’ and will affect the common man. According to organisers 98 per cent of hotels in the city remained closed. According to B. Chandra Shekar Hebbar, president of the Bruhat Bangalore Hotels Association, the GST has flaws and is unfair towards restaurants in South India. "Hotels which have income between Rs 6,000 and Rs 50,000 per annum have tax exemptions. Again hotels which earn between Rs 50,000 and Rs 2 lakh per annum are charged 5 per cent tax.”