Okhaldhunga, October 28

Amidst the apathy of the concerned authorities, black marketing has flourished in Okhaldhunga of late.

The district monitoring committee under the District Administration Office has not carried out market monitoring for the past one year.

As a result, prices of commodities vary from shop to shop. The ongoing blockade has become an easy excuse for shopkeepers to overcharge customers.

“A few months ago, I bought a litre of cooking oil for Rs 120 but now we’ve to pay up to Rs 200 for the same amount of oil,” complained Sanumaya Dahal, a local, adding, “Though the authorities have made it mandatory for shops to put up a price list of commodities, no shopkeeper seems to be following the rule.”

Ramesh Kumar Dhakal, another local, also complained that unscrupulous shopkeepers were fleecing customers.

“They have hoarded food commodities but have been overcharging customers citing the blockade at border entry points,” said Dhakal, adding that the prices of food commodities had increased by 20-30 percent over the past two months.

Most of the customers held the local administration responsible. “Black marketing is on the rise as the local administration has turned a blind eye,” they said.

Meanwhile, the local administration has pledged to carry out market monitoring to check black marketing of food and essential commodities in the district.