Between a rock and a hard place: Bhagirath Palace medicine mkt struggles to get by

New Delhi: The Capital's largest wholesale market for medicines, Bhagirath Palace in Chandni Chowk area, has extended its operational hours by an hour to woo customers but the market faces several hiccups as it grapples with sales down to 40 per cent and a lack of inter-state transportation.

The wholesale medicine market with around 570 shops, was given passes to operate during the nationwide lockdown in March as it falls in the ambit of essential goods.

However, it operated only two days a week, said one of the shop owners.

"Customers could not travel to get medicine and neither could a lot of non-permanent staff who did not have inter-state passes. If you open shops but people cannot reach you, what is the point of opening it?," questioned a staff member at Shree Govind Nathjee Pharma.

"Even though we come under essential goods, shop keepers were worried about their safety. So we decided to open the market on alternate days as people had to pay rent and staff needed their salaries," said Anil Chugh, president of Delhi Drug Traders Association (DDTA).

As the country "unlocked", the DDTA, in a collective decision, decided to keep the shops open on all days to help shopkeepers and keep the supply of medicine going. Staggered timings in the initial days did little to help. The market was functional from 10 am to 5 pm and with an extension of an hour, it is now open till 6 pm.

"A complete end of lockdown needs to happen on an immediate basis as the neighbouring states are our major buyers," Chugh said, adding that shopkeepers are currently incurring 60 per cent losses. "Resumption of metro services and Indian railways is crucial for the market and while the state government has jurisdiction only in Delhi, a majority of sales is dependent on other states like UP, Punjab and Bihar," the DDTA president said.

"Even by road, there is a lot of trouble as there is intensive checking. Recently I travelled to Uttarakhand where we were asked to test for COVID and stay in quarantine for three days till the results came and if tested positive one has to quarantine for 14 days. Such measures affect the business," he said. Similar encounters were experienced in Punjab and Chandigarh by other traders in the Bhagirath Markets as well.

Bhagirath Palace is a hub for not just medicines but also consumables and surgical equipment. It is a

one-stop solution for traders dealing in medicinal paraphernalia. Thus making it a sought-after market for traders in other states.