Chemists in major Andhra Pradesh cities, including Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati, downed shutters on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) in a one-day bandh called by the All India Organisation of Chemists & Druggists (AIOCD) against the growing sale of medicines through online pharmacies, which they say allow people to buy drugs without a prescription.

In Vijayawada, members of the NTR District Chemists & Druggists Association took out a rally on Nakkala Road, highlighting the issues they face because of the growing dominance of online medicine sales.

Speaking at the rally, the association’s general secretary, D.V.R. Sai Kumar, pointed out that e-pharmacies have impacted public health too, since these platforms allow people to buy medicines without a prescription.

Habit-forming drugs, antibiotics and Medical Termination of Pregnancy kits are not sold in a chemist shop without a doctor’s prescription, but there are no restrictions while purchasing them from e-pharmacies, they said, adding that the bandh had been called in the larger public interest.

The Krishna District Wholesale Drug Trade Association is also participating in the bandh. On Tuesday (May 19, 2026), officials in the Drugs Control Administration, NTR district, said necessary precautionary arrangements had been made to ensure medicines remained available throughout the district.

In Visakhapatnam, instructions have been issued to ensure that at least one medical shop remains open in every centre across the district, to avoid inconvenience to the public.

The administration said medical shops in hospitals and nursing homes would function as usual, and that there would be no shortage of medicines for patients. MedPlus Pharmacy informed the authorities that all its outlets in the district would remain open on the bandh day, while Apollo Pharmacy stated that at least 50% of its stores would function.