Medical stores compete  to lure customers 
Shariq Majeed
Tribune News Service

Mandi (Poonch), August 20
Private medical stores located near the sub-district hospital here fight for selling medicines to the patients. As soon as the patients come out of the doctor’s room, employees of the private medical stores catch hold of them to take them to their respective medical stores. Such is the competition between the three medical stores here that there have been brawls among them over selling medicine.
According to eyewitnesses, the moment the patient comes out of the doctor’s cabin, the employees of the private medical stores catch hold of them and in some cases piggyback them to their respective medical stores. They added that employees of the three private medical stores - Baba Medical Store, Mir Medical Store and Sharma Medical Store located - outside the government sub-district hospital, Mandi have created nuisance.
“I had come here to get my father checked. As soon as we stepped out of the doctor’s room, two persons tried to snatch the prescription from our hand. They were employees of a private medical store and claimed that they would sell medicine at cheaper rates,” said Nasir Ahmed. “This is sheer nuisance. Even the police is not interested in checking it,” he added.
Sources in the hospital confirmed that employees of the private medical stores were troubling patients. They added that these employees catch hold of the patients and force them to buy medicine from their respective medical shops. “There have been cases wherein fights have taken place between these employees for sale of medicine,” sources claimed. “Recently, the police had intervened to resolve a fight between them by making the two parties to compromise. There have been reports of the police having a nexus with the owners of these medical stores,” he added.
Director (health services), Jammu, Jasbir Singh, said he was not aware of any such practice in the hospital. “However, if your findings are true, we will take action,” he claimed.