SATKHIRA. Apr 3: The owners of about 200 medicine shops have been functioning without licence and offering requisite facilities in different areas of Satkhira district for quite a long time.

According to a businessman holding licence of Satkhira town, the owners of these unregistered medicine shops have been running their business allegedly by paying bribe money amounting from Taka 500 to Taka 3000 on monthly basis on the basis of quality of shops to the office of the Drug Superintendent stationed at Khulna district.

The duty of the Drug Super and his staff is to supervise and detect the medicine shops running without drug licences. But normally they allegedly do not perform their assigned duty hoping to get illegal gratification from the owners of unlicenced medicine shops.

Meanwhile, many of these

unregistered medicine shop| have been carrying out their business by selling sub-stan? dard banned and date expired medicines endangering the lives of the consumers for a long time.

A large number of pharma! cies even some having valid 11* cences also lack requisite facilities and proper environment for preserving and selling of medicines in appropriate temperature In c|ear showcased and some in refrigerators.

But such unethical business is running throughout the dis» trlct before the very nose of both, drug and local civil ad-j ministration officials and they were seen reluctant to take legal action against these illegal businessmen for some unknown reason. Although, re-Kated directives were given the ministries Concerned for taking action against the owners of these illegal medicine shops.