Cachar administration locks shop in Fatak Bazar for selling at hiked price, warns Merchant Associations

In view of the impending nine-day lockdown beginning Thursday, the Cachar district administration urged the food grains merchant association, vegetable wholesalers, and fruit wholesalers of the district to keep the prices under a tight leash.

Convening a meeting with food grains merchant association, vegetable wholesalers, and fruit wholesalers at the DC’s conference hall in Silchar on Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner, Keerthi Jalli urged them to keep a check on black marketing, hoarding and prevent inflation of essential commodities during the nine-day lockdown period and thereafter.

The Deputy Commissioner urged the representatives of market associations to maintain prices of essential items, fruits, and vegetables at reasonable rates and to ensure that prices are not hiked under any circumstances.

Jalli also took stock of availability of food grains, including sugar, mustard oil, wheat, salt, wheat, flour, potatoes, onions, and other essential items, and strictly directed every wholesaler and retailer not to sell any product above the capped rate.

Echoing the views of Jalli, MLA, Silchar, Dilip Kumar Paul also urged the market associations to keep a tab on the prices of essentials, fruits, and vegetables and to prevent escalation.
In response to the pleas made by Deputy Commissioner and local MLA, the merchant associations gave the assurance that prices will not be hiked in next 15 days.

Deputy Commissioner Jalli warned that appropriate action will be initiated against the unscrupulous businessmen and traders indulging in malpractices.

Jalli also directed the agriculture, fisheries, and food and civil supplies officials to visit the markets and to take necessary action to keep under tight control prices of fish, fruits and vegetables, and other essential items.

The meeting was also attended by Additional Deputy Commissioner, AR Majumder, District Agriculture Officer, District Fishery Development Officer and officials of concerned departments.

The district administration has also launched a wide publicity and dissemination campaign to ensure that consumers are not overcharged for essential commodities. To ensure that there is no undue increase in wholesale and grocery rates of essential commodities and to stop profiteering and hoarding, several steps are being taken by the administration. The Assistant commissioner rounds in Fatak Bazar found that Sunrise Stores was “selling with a hike in wholesale prices.” The store in Fatak Bazaar has been locked by the administration.