Ludhiana, May 21 -- Access to medicines was disrupted across Ludhiana on Wednesday after nearly all of the city's 3,253 registered chemist shops downed shutters during a one-day nationwide strike called against online sale of medicines and alleged predatory pricing practices by e-pharmacy platforms.

The bandh, organised by the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists and supported locally by the Punjab Chemists Association (PCA), triggered inconvenience for thousands of residents, particularly patients dependent on daily medication for chronic ailments such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiac conditions.

With standalone pharmacies remaining shut across most localities, residents were seen moving from one area to another in sea...