E-pharmacies operating illegally via site linked to Aarogya Setu

New Delhi: A lobby of over 850,000 chemist outlets across India has asked the government to delink the Aarogya Setu Mitr portal from the government's Covid tracker Aarogya Setu app, saying several 'foreign-funded and illegally operating' e-pharmacies were using the portal to advance their business interests in India. The portal lists several e-pharmacies and telemedicine services.
“We are shocked and concerned to find that www.aarogyasetumitr.in is being used by foreign funded and illegally operating e-pharmacies to advance their business interests in India even though the business model adopted by the e-pharmacies is illegal, injuncted by orders of Hon’ble Delhi High Court and can cause grave damage to the health and well being of citizens,” the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A MATTER OF CONCERN
Calling it a matter of grave concern, it said that listing of e-pharmacies is “discriminatory and unfair” to the individual retailers who are capable of delivering medicines at the doorstep but have not been given market exposure through the Aarogya Setu app or the portal. “The said website being linked to Aarogya Setu application is a matter of greater concern since the faith reposed by public in the said application is being betrayed by allowing illegal e-pharmacies to operate in India,” said Rajiv Singhal, general secretary at AIOCD.

The letter said that even if the government is desirous to provide the facility of home delivery, the eligibility criteria for market exposure on the portal is “irrational, unfair, arbitrary and fixed malafidely” by vested interests so as to exclude individual retailers who are selling medicines in compliance with law and are also providing the facility of home delivery. AIOCD has asked government to discontinue exposure given to epharmacies on the application, which takes the user to this site. Earlier, Swadeshi Jagran Manch conveyor Ashwani Mahajan had also taken up the matter and in a series of tweets complained that the Arogya Setu app is promoting e-pharma companies that are offering huge discounts and “threatening neighbourhood pharmacy shops”.