Inadequate supply of oral saline in the retail market is intensifying the sufferings of the diarrhoea patients across the country as their number has been rising with the increase of seasonal heat and water crisis.
Medicine shop owners in different city areas said that they were selling oral saline of a particular brand at a higher price as the supply was insufficient against demand.
The wholesale medicine sellers and retailers alleged that the pharmaceutical company had created an artificial crisis. They also complained that the company sold the saline to them subject to conditions that they have to buy their other products, which further intensified the crisis.
Mozammel Haque, owner of Fahmida Medical Hall in city's Karwan Bazar area, said that supply of ORS was not sufficient to meet the current demand. 'We have been facing the shortage of saline for last two months. We have to buy saline form the whole sellers at higher cost.'
'On the other hand, if we buy saline directly from the Social Marketing Company distributors, the main producer of ORS, we have to buy other slow items worth about Tk 1,500 from the company,' he said adding that the company also do not supply saline according to their requirements.
The factory rate of one packet of saline is Tk 3 while the maximum retail price of one packet of saline is fixed at Tk 3.44.
Unscrupulous dealers, taking the advantage of the high demand, have raised the price of saline from Tk 1.5 to Tk 2.5 per packet after creating a shortage in supply at the retail market, said the traders and the people concerned.
Delwar, owner of Promi Medicne Shop in city's Khilgaon area, said that they sold 20 packets of saline at Tk 100.
The government, however, has suggested people to drink home-made oral saline instead of buying packets of saline from the market.
Monir Hossain, deputy secretary of Bangladesh Chemist and Druggist Society, said that Social Marketing Company was the main supplier of oral saline which was more popular than any other brand. 'But it cannot meet the suddenly increased demand for saline. The price has been hiked as the demand is rising rapidly,' he added.
He pointed out that shortage of oral saline is a regular occurrence this time of the year when most people want to buy saline produced by SMC. 'SMC authorities know this, but we fail to understand why they don't increase their supply,' he questioned.
Mahbubur Rahman, head of marketing of SMC said that a section of unscrupulous traders stocked the products to create an artificial shortage of oral saline to make windfall profits during the current outbreak of diarrhoeal diseases.
He said that the SMC currently produces around 300 million packets of oral saline every year.
'We produce 200 million packets in our own factory which is our maximum capacity. We also manufacture about 100 packets of saline on contract with three other companies including the state-owned Essential Drugs Company Limited and Renata Limited,' Rahman added.
He denied the allegation of their imposing condition of selling saline. 'The company has no policy like that. But there might have been some isolated incidents.'
Rahman said the retailers and whole sellers did not send such complain to them directly. 'They can directly complain to us so that we can take action in this regard.'
Director general of directorate general of health services Khandaker M Shefayetullah said the government would take initiative to increase the production of ORS.
He also advised people to take home-made saline instead of buying saline from the medicine shops.
Source: New Age
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