Governor Satya Pal Malik denies shortage of drugs in Jammu and Kashmir

SRINAGAR: Drug stores in Srinagar are reportedly exhausting their stock of life-saving drugs fast, and have already run out of cancer drugs due to the lockdown and communication blockade in Kashmir.

Owners of drug stores and patients complained on Sunday that many drugs were not available in the market. 

However, Governor Satya Pal Malik denied any shortage of medicines and essential commodities in Jammu and Kashmir and said that communication curbs had helped save lives. Malik said enough stocks were available for people to buy.

Fayaz Ahmad, owner of Chinar Medicate at Karan Nagar, outside SMHS Hospital, said that his drug store was running short of cancer drugs.

He said the drugs were not available as the stockists had not received fresh supplies of medicines since the restrictions were imposed in the Valley before the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was revoked on August 5.

“If we don’t get fresh supplies, we will exhaust our stock of life-saving drugs in two weeks,” Ahmad said. 

The owner of Aqsa Medicate, also at Karan Nagar, said they had received some supplies of life-saving drugs from the distributors “but the stock will not last more than three weeks.” Due to the communications curbs, the distributors and stockists were “unable to contact the companies wherefrom they used to order supplies,” he said.

Many of the chemists’ shops in Srinagar and other parts of the Valley have reportedly closed as they have run out of life-saving drugs.