3 CM’s Pharmacy in Mylapore

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT
Three out of 1000 Mudalvar Marunthakam (Chief Ministers Pharmacy)
were opened in Mylapore last week offering discount up to 75 percent
in generic brand medicines.
Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin inaugurated these low cost
pharmacies on Feb 24 and these pharmacies offer generic medicines at
cheaper costs than sold at other pharmacies
They also stock medical needs like first aid and basic medical
accessories, pain-killers, medicines to treat diabetes, blood pressure
and common ailments and diseases.
One is located at Pughs Road near Greenways Road, the second at
TNSC Bank complex near the famous Anjaneyar temple in Alwarpet and
the third at CIT Colony. The pharmacies are open from 10 am to 8 pm.
In a bid to ease the burden of healthcare costs of the people, Stalin
launched yet another populist scheme ‘Mudhalvar Marundhagams’
(chief minister's pharmacies) across the state. The 1,000 pharmacies
launched will sell generic medicines with subsidized rates and up to 75
per cent discount.
Established by the cooperation department, these 1000 pharmacies will
be the first phase of the 'Mudhalvar Marunthakam' scheme. Stalin said
that his government was committed to delivering the “good” for the
people of the state despite a “financial crunch”, noting that his
government is pushing forward the welfare schemes “without getting
bothered by the restrictions” by the Centre by not allocating funds.
“This government would implement ‘Mudhalvar Marundhagams’ to
provide generic and other medicines to the people at subsidized rates.
In 48 hours, we can also make medicines available on request from
other centers,” Stalin said while launching the scheme.
The new welfare scheme modeled on the lines of Amma pharmacies,
launched by Jayalalithaa during her 2011-2016 regime, was first
announced by Stalin during his Independence Day speech on August 15,
2024
The idea of the scheme was to make crucial and essential medicines
more “affordable, particularly for middle-class patients seeking
treatment at private hospitals.”
In the first phase, 500 pharmacies will be run by the cooperative
department while the rest will be run by entrepreneurs who are
qualified pharmacists
As part of the scheme, the state government will give subsidies of up to
Rs 3 lakh to support pharmacists and societies in setting up the
'Mudhalvar Marundhagams'. The scheme also offers employment for
1,000 graduates in pharmacy initiatives.
With just a year for the assembly elections, the DMK has been riding
high on the populist schemes. And the CM pharmacy scheme is an
initiative to support education and health which Stalin has always been
calling as “crucial” for development
This again is in line with several welfare schemes like the free bus ride
for women, the 1,000 rupees cash dole for women and the cash dole
for students called the 'Naan Mudhalvan' scheme.
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