By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Sept. 10 : As per the government plan to provide relief to the people by selling essential items at a discount rate during the festival, public entities have opened fair price shops at different places inside the Kathmandu Valley Monday.

Three public enterprises- Food Management and Trading Company Limited (FMTC), Salt Trading Corporation (STC) and Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) - opened the shops in close coordination with the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies.

The Food Management and Trading Company formed by merging the Nepal Food Corporation and National Trading Limited recently.

The consumers can buy essential items at a discount from the fair price shops until the festival of Chhatha.

The public entities have been operating the fair price shops in and outside the valley for the last couples of years with an aim of providing essential goods at discount rates and control the artificial prices hikes by the traders during the high demand season as well.

The three public entities are operating the fair price shops at 11 places, including nine fixed and three mobile shops.

Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Matrika Prasad Yadav inaugurated the integrated shops at National Trading Limited Premises Ramshahpath on Sunday.

The public entities are selling essentials goods, especially rice, pulses, ghee, oil, sugar and salt at a discount rate for one and half months.

They are offering discount of Rs. 5 to 10 per kg on rice, Rs. 2 per kg on salt, Rs. 50 per kg on ghee, Rs. 10 per kg on paneer, Rs. 5 per kg on sugar and Rs. 5 per litre on cooking oil at the fair price shops.
The consumers will get different varieties of spices at 15 per cent discount in the fair price shops.

Food Management and Trading Company Limited will sell different varieties of rice, wheat and pulses by offering a discount of ranging from Rs 5 to Rs. 10 per kg.

According to Srimani Raj Khanal, departmental chief of FMTC, they are offering discount of Rs. 5 per kilogram of rice verities' of Japanese rice, Aruwa Jiramasino Rice and Aruwa Sona Mansuli rice.
Likewise, it is offering discount of Rs. 10 per kilogram in Karnali beans and buckwheat and Aruwa Basmati Rice, he said.

He said that they have planned to operate the fair prices shops more than 23 places across the country.

The government has planned to run fair price shops in 73 places across the country.

The fair price shops will run until the festival of Chhath.