The local unit of the Chemists and Drugists Association has been pressing for reducing the SMC octroi rates immediately. ``The medical shop owners do not afford to pay the octroi at these rates,'' said an association senior. The chemists in Solapur were being forced to sell medicines at higher rates which sometimes becomes unaffordable for the patients, a CDA statement on Thursday maintanined. Even as city chemists and drugists are united over the issue, the municipal corporation asserts that the CDA belief is baseless. Countering the CDA allegation on higher octroi rates leading to inflated medicine rates, an SMC press relased maintained that the octroi rates were competitive compared to other municipal corporations in the State.

Besideds, the SMC has accused the CDA members of submitting untrue price lists of medicines at the octri check posts while bringing in medicines. The city chemists sell a saline bottle at Rs 29.85, despite the fact that it costs only Rs 7, the SMC release said. The SMC also has charged CDA members of not adhering to the Central Government's guidelines over selling certain medicines at the controlled rates.

The SMC remarks apparantly have irked the local CDA members who reacted to the SMC ``offensive'' while their meeting with municipal commissioner D N Mandalekar this morning. The CDA delegation lead by Maharashtra State Chemists and Drugists Association west zone president P S Gandhi condemned the SMC allegations against the chemists, it was stated.

Speaking The Indian Express about the token strike CDA district unit president Nirmal Shah brushed aside all the allegations. No false price lists have ever been submitted at any of the octroi check posts, he said.

Shah blamed the SMC for imposing octroi at ``exorbitant'' rates on medicine compared to any of the municipal corporations in the country. ``When SMC charges three percent octroi on medicine Brihan Mumbai and Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporations charge nothing,'' he said.

The Pune and Kolhapur municipal corporation charge two percent octroi on medicines while Nagpur Municipal Corporation has reduced the octroi rates to one per cent from the earlier 2.5 percent, he added.

Solapur chemists would resort to an indefinite strike, if their demands were not met, Shah said. However the decission of an indefinate strike would be taken after the current political instablity is over, he said.

On inconvenience to patients, Shah made a point that four medical shops in different parts of the city were open catering to the emergencies.

The SMC commissioner, meanwhile, was not in the mood to consider the CDA demand and submitted that the SMC was facing a financial crisis.