• Traders fix prices of daily essentials on their own and sell date-expired goods

Dhankuta, September 19

With the festivals just around the corner, consumers in rural areas of Dhankuta are compelled to bear the brunt of price hike due to negligence on the part of the market monitoring team deployed in the district to carry out necessary inspection.

Businessmen in the rural areas fix the prices of daily essentials on their own and sell date-expired materials. Taking advantage of the approaching festivals, local businessmen have increased the price of salt, sugar, cooking oil and rice, among other daily used materials, by 30 per cent. Consumers also accused shopkeepers of selling sub-standard materials. “We are fed up with the businessmen’s monopoly in the market,” they said.

Chetan Karki, a local of Chhatharjorpati Rural Municipality said most businesses did not have permission from the authority concerned to operate. “Most of the traders are even selling alcohol and tobacco products from grocery shops and they fix their price arbitrarily,” he added.

Another local, Narendra Rai of Sahidbhumi Rural Municipality, said consumers had been cheated due to lack of market monitoring in the area. He added that the district administration, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Small and Cottage Industry, local administration, among others, did not pay any heed to the problem.

Chairman of Consumers Rights Protection Forum, Dhankuta, Bipin Shrestha said that authorities concerned did not take action against shop owners who were found cheating consumers six months ago

Gopal Prasad Adhikari, a teacher, said the monopoly of businessmen would increase until the authority took action against them.

Meanwhile, District Administration Office, Dhankuta, stated that preparation to carry out market monitoring was under way.