Damauli, March 22

Food Technology and Quality Control Division Office Tanahun has intensified market monitoring of late.

According to the office chief Shivaji Baral, so far monitoring has been conducted in Damauli, Dumre, Anbukhaireni, Khairenitar, Bhimad and Dulegauda.

“During the monitoring we found some 20 litres of date expired beverage, while food items such as biscuits, breads and noodles without any label were also found. They were destroyed,” Baral said.

“Of the total 160 hotels we monitored, most were found operating in squalid conditions, while a number of shops were found not displaying price list of products they dealt in,” Baral said.

The office has also monitored eight water bottling plants in the districts so far. Four of them were found bottling water without purifying it. The four water bottling plants have been told to close operation.

The monitoring had the participation of local level representatives and the representatives of the district police office, district administration office, district-based chamber of commerce and industry and consumer forum.

The office is also planning to monitor the markets in other districts — Lamjung, Gorkha and Manang. Meanwhile, four hotels of Tanahun have got blue stickers. Hotel Santosh, Bikash Tea Shop, Sungabha Restaurant and Suresh Sweets thus got “B” category blue stickers on the basis of the level of sanitation they maintained.

Meanwhile, the locals of the district appreciated the move of Food Technology and Quality Control Division Office, Tanahun, to monitor the market. However, they are doubtful about action being taken against the hoteliers and other traders. “In the past to authorities carried out market monitoring, but no serious action was taken against the people selling sub-standard products,” said a local.