Mumbai: Medicine vendors call hunger strike over delay in payment of dues

As Mumbai gears up to celebrate Diwali, All Food and Drugs Licence Holders Foundation (AFDLHF) has called a hunger strike on November 12 outside Haffkine Institute,

As Mumbai gears up to celebrate Diwali, All Food and Drugs Licence Holders Foundation (AFDLHF) has called a hunger strike on November 12 outside Haffkine Institute, Parel. Members have alleged that despite regularly supplying medicines to civic hospitals and medical colleges, the procurement cell of Haffkine Institute has not released ₹206 crore over the past seven months. In a letter to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and Haffkine Institute on Tuesday, vendors said they don’t have money to pay staffers their salaries during the festival season.

According to state government rules, Haffkine Institute is the only body responsible for the procurement of medicines all across Maharashtra. After getting selected in response to tenders floated by the apex body, vendors supply medicines to civic and government-run hospitals, medical colleges, dispensaries among others. Vendors claimed they have not received their pending money since May despite submitting bills to the institute.

“Due to the non-receipt of the payments, our members’ financial condition got disturbed. We don’t have the funds to pay salaries to staff/workers. We don’t even have money to buy raw materials,” reads the letter addressed to Medical Education and Drugs Department, the chief minister’s office and the institute.

AFDLHF claimed that of the total pending amount of ₹206 crore, ₹93 crore is to be paid by the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) and the remaining ₹113 crore by the Directorate of Health Service (DHS).

Secretary of medical education and drugs department, Saurabh Vijay, said, “I am not aware of the situation right now. But will look into it.”

Abhay Pandey, president of AFDLHF, said, “DHS has released our money but the institute hasn’t dispersed it to vendors. We get blacklisted if we delay supply of medicines to hospitals, but what about our sufferings? We have sent several letters to the authority but no one has paid any heed.”

The federation has decided to stage the hunger strike in front of Haffkine Institute at 10am on November 12. “People are lighting up their houses for Diwali, but we don’t even have the money to pay school fees of my children,” said a vendor.