Commodity price hiked as election nears

Kathmandu, May 10: The price of the essential commodities have been hiked as the voting day of the local level election coming nears. 

The price of vegetables, meat and fuel as well as edible oil, pulses, rice and legume has been increased.

Traders have increased the price of commodities and created artificial shortages at a time when the government is busy with elections. 

Consumer Right Activists have accused the responsible government is not paying attention to rising black marketing.  

Consumer rights activities Prem Lal Maharjan has accused that the government agencies are only fining a few small shopkeepers while LP gas industries and distributors are indulging in black marketing.

Traders increased the price for three months on the pretext of the Ukraine-Russia war. The Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection which is responsible for monitor and investigation seems to be ineffective in dispensing its responsibility.  

Consumer rights activist Madhav Timalsina has pointed out that there should be monitoring of the import price and selling price of the imported goods. "Traders have started to curtail imported goods. The government and monitoring agencies should be responsible for this," he said. 

Director-General of the Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection Leela Prasad Sharma said that traders who indulged in increasing the price abnormally have been fined and penalized. 

He also said that the current price rise is also affected by the imposition of the provision of a 100 per cent margin by Nepal Rastra Bank, the pressure of the dollar, the LC problem and the government's decision of implementing imports discouraging policy. Sharma has also claimed that the government has intensified the monitoring.

According to him, the department has dispatched four different teams for monitoring and has been penalised if found guilty. Sharma said that the process of monitoring has been intensified despite declining of 50 per cent human resources due to mobilization for the election. 

According to him, the first priority is to ensure whether the price rise is real or not. Those who have raised the price of imports and domestic production abnormally are penalized.

Department claimed that 18 gas dealers are penalized out of 20/25 dealers get investigated in the last 15 days. Besides, 6 have been penalized involved in selling restricted-energy drinks a few days back.