Consumers pay extra at city kitchen markets

A section of traders in kitchen markets blissfully ignore government directives to hang price chart visibly at their shops mainly as designated market monitors turn a blind eye to the non-compliance, consumers alleged.   
This simple lacking, business analysts say, leads to bigger offence of price fixing and the cheating of consumers.        
Sources said an inadequate number of teams formed by the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) for market monitoring prompted a section of unscrupulous traders not to go by the government instructions.
This section of traders is allegedly selling commodities at high prices than the rates originally prescribed in the chart, forcing consumers to pay extra money for buying essential commodities.
On visit to different kitchen markets at Fakirerpool, Shantinagar, Segunbagicha and Kaptan Bazar Monday, the FE correspondent found some shops hanging price charts quoting a litre of soybean at Tk 96, red lentils Tk 100-105, sugar 44, aromatic rice (kalijiri/ pilau) Tk 80-Tk 85 and red pepper at  Tk 180-190.  
But the traders not hanging the charts were selling soybean at Tk 100 per litre, sugar at Tk 46, red lentils at Tk 110 and red pepper at Tk 200 at Fakirerpool Bazar, according to the customers.
They suggested the government increase the number of teams ahead of the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha festival.
"We call upon the government to intensify the ongoing market- monitoring drive on the occasion of the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha," Md Farhad Reza, a private service-holder, told the FE at Fakirerpool Bazar.  
Only two teams of the MoC conducted drive at three kitchen markets in Mohammadpur area in the city on the day.
A high official of the ministry endorsed the consumers' views.
He says they have 14 teams for market monitoring. But due to unavailability of law-enforcing agencies' personnel and logistic supports, they deploy only one team or two to carry out market monitoring.
"If we get adequate law-enforcing agencies' personnel, it will be easy for us to deploy numbers of monitoring teams," additional secretary of the MoC Md Ruhul Amin Sarker told the FE.
Apart from the teams of the MoC, the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) is also monitoring the markets.
"Our teams are working. We received 138 complaints at our central complaint centre. We've disposed of 62 complaints so far," Director-General of the DNCRP Md Abul Hossain Mian told the FE.
He said they would intensify the market-monitoring drive to protect the interests of the consumers.
Earlier, the parliamentary watchdog had asked the MoC to strengthen its market-monitoring drive to keep the prices of essential commodities stable in the kitchen markets.
"We will request the ministry of home affairs to provide adequate number of law-enforcers for smooth market monitoring during Eid-ul-Azha," the MoC official said.  

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