Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (ANK)
Mangaluru, May 11: Days after cracking the whip on malls and multiplexes that overcharge bottled water, food and civil supplies minister U T Khader on Thursday May 11 warned that stringent action would be take taken against those who charge double or more than the MRP for bottled drinking water in the state.
Addressing a press meet here, Khader said, "The department of legal metrology and the department of food and civil supplies conducted 1,169 raids across the state and filed 279 cases. In Mangaluru, we have conducted 169 raids and filed 12 cases. People are being forced to buy bottled water, which costs Rs 20 outside, for Rs 50 or so in malls and multiplexes. There cannot be dual MRP for the same product.
"Moreover, mall managements do not allow people to carry their own bottles inside. This is a violation of consumer rights. We have taken serious note of this and are working on correcting it. Offenders will be slapped fines of Rs 2,000 each for first offence, and if they are caught again, they will face criminal charges and jail up to 6 months," he said.
Stating that he would write to the centre to include water in the Essential Commodities Act, Khader said, "There is no clarity on dual MRP. While all food items fall under the purview of the Act, drinking water is left out. We will write to the union consumer affairs ministry asking for inclusion of drinking water under the Act. We will also explore legal ways of ensuring that people are allowed to carry their water bottles inside malls and multiplexes.
"Consumers can also file complaints with the legal metrology department or the consumer court if they are sold food items at exorbitant prices. If there is any complaint, they can call on 080-22253500 (Bengaluru) and 0824-2223601 (Mangaluru)," he informed.
On the issue of food wastage, U T Khader said, "We have held a discussion to form a policy with regard to food wastage and also suggestion have been sought from NGOs regarding the same. Today we can notice nearly 20 to 30% of food being wasted, so a few NGOs have volunteered to take steps to avoid such waste of food."
He also said that after incident in Uttar Pradesh were special chips were found installed in petrol bunks to illegally supply less fuel to consumers, raids will be carried out in Karnataka too to ensure fair supply of fuel. "We have directed deputy commissioners of all districts to carry out raids on petrol pumps to check whether there is any use of cheat chips to dispense low quantities of fuel," he said.