2 min readShimlaMay 20, 2026 10:34 PM IST
Chemists and druggists across Himachal Pradesh joined a 24-hour nationwide strike on Wednesday following a call by the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) against online sale of medicines, heavy corporate discounting and the alleged rise in sale of counterfeit drugs.
The strike affected the operations of private medical stores in several parts of the state, including Shimla, where most chemist shops remained closed.
However, government-run medicine outlets at Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMC), Kamla Nehru Hospital and Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital continued to function normally.
Himachal Pradesh Chemists and Druggists Association president Sanjeev Pandit said nearly 10,000 medicine sellers across the state participated in the strike in support of the nationwide protest against online pharmacies and deep discounting by large corporate e-pharmacy chains.
Sanitation workers’ strike enters day 5 in Shimla
In the absence of a written assurance, around 1,100 sanitation workers, including door-to-door garbage collectors and sweeping workers, expressed their inability to end their indefinite strike which enters its fifth day on Wednesday. The collectors and their leaders told the MC officials that the strike will not end until they receive written assurance about their demands including the reimplementation of 10 per cent of PF in their accounts.
The Mayor, Surinder Chauhan. said, “Garbage collectors are almost ready to end the strike. I want them to give their rights without following any Annual General Meeting (AGM). Tomorrow, the Chief Minister is expected to arrive in Shimla. I assured the workers that all their demands will be fulfilled.”
Notably, Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu went to Karnataka to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Karnataka chief minister.
