JHAPA: Jhapa consumers have been hit hard by rocketing prices of fish and meat. The traders have unjustly increased the price of these commodities, officials of District Livestock Office and Chicken Entrepreneurs' Association (CEA) said, accusing authorities of doing little in curbing the unfair practices.

According to the CEA, live Broiler chicken was selling between Rs 120 to 135 per kg, while prepared chicken was charged Rs 250 per kg -- Rs 180 to 200 and Rs 340 to 350 per kg for local chicken, respectively. Both the farmers and the consumers have been cheated.

All the meat and fish products have got dearer by Rs 20 to 30 per kg within a month. ''Nobody has informed us about the monopoly," said Lekhnath Pokharel, CDO, Jhapa. He, however, informed that the administration was coordinating with the Market Monitoring Committee (MMC) to check the market prices. MMC chief Krishna Prasad Bhandari said they had formed local monitoring committees in order to end the monopoly. Secretary of the local Consumers' Right Forum Amrit Lal Shrestha said they had failed to protect the consumers' right but had created awareness about the prices.

Meanwhile, Agricultural Products Market organised an interaction on the issue in Birtamod yesterday. Participants in the programme opined that producers and consumers were being cheated. Suraj Bimali, secretary, Agricultural Products Market, said a committee had been formed under the coordination of Dr Prahlad Sapkota to fix the price of meat and fish products.