Documented by Goa Desc Resource Centre Ph:2252660
Website: www.goadesc.org Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Press Clippings on the web: http://www.goadesc.org/mem/
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-------------------------------------------------------- Consumers hold Protest Dharna in Panjim -------------------------------------------------------- Over 100 volunteers from various village level Consumer Forums participated in a protest dharna in Panjim to highlight the problems faced by consumers in Goa which have increased in the last three months in the form of poor services, overcharging and the outright indifferent attitude of the various service providers.
The dharna organised by the Goa Civic and Consumer Action Network (GOA CAN) called for action from the Goa Government to redress the grievances of the harassed, cheated and exploited consumers in the State. The dharna held during the current Assembly session also sought to draw the attention of all legislators to the issues faced by the consumers of Goa and that the same be discussed in the Goa Legislative Assembly.
Among the problems highlighted at the dharna was the hike in phone rental ratesby BSNL which has classified certain villages as urban and as part of a SDCA now have a monthly rental of Rs.250/-. There were complaints of DP boxes not being provided, wiring is in bad shape, faulty instruments not being repaired and Internet users facing losses & inconveniences after the Sancharnet service was introduced. Moreover BSNL has not yet held a Open House in North Goa to address these issues.
Complaints of GOA DAIRY consumers being overcharged daily to the tune of Rs.30,000/- with a packet of Rs.7.50 being sold for Rs.8/- & Rs.8.50 with no intervention from the management of GOA DAIRY was also noted. Milk products of GOA DAIRY are sold in the market without proper retail outlets and even the Milk Booth managers are overcharging & diverting milk packets after 7.30am
A common grievance was about Cable TV Operators collecting payments from consumers without issuing receipts for the Entertainment Tax and Service Tax. While monthly charges continue to increase despite the orders of the Honorable High Court, many so called operators are not even registered with the Postal Authorities. Worse still is DDI and Metro channel are not available to many consumers due to inaction of Goa Doordarshan.
Another issue highlighted is adulterated petrol continues to be distributed and sold in different cities and villages thereby putting the consumers to great hardship.In the case of the coastal belt of Calangute & Candolim the situation is even worse as the only Petrol Pump of Indian Oil Corporation(IOC) has been shut down nearly two years putting residents and foreign & domestic tourists to even greater hardship.
Protestors criticized the Public Works Departments (PWD) apathy and negligence towards the consumers as was seen in with the outbreak of Jaundice (hepatitis E) in Panjim. The irresponsible behaviour of the PWD of refusing to provide vital information with regards the water supply underground pipeline network to the Village Panchayats & Municipal Councils was also criticised. Moreover the Department has not organized any grievance redressal meetings for thousands of its domestic consumers.
It was pointed out that the Electricity Department has also not been forthcoming as a service provider to settle the grievances of the domestic consumers who have been faced with power cuts and doses of high voltage resulting in loss of many electrical appliances. Lack of guard wires, stay wires, no pole numbers, open fuse boxes, overloaded transformers, no weekly maintenance were all part of the endless list of problems. Most important is while the street lights do not work, consumers have to continue to pay for them (sundry charges) on a monthly basis.
With regards cooking Gas it was pointed out that LPG cylinders still do not reach the kitchens of many consumers in Goa through the home delivery service offered by Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum and Indian Oil Corporation as this service is not available in their villages. Despite many reminders the agents of these companies do not comply with the rules thereby putting the consumers to great hardship.
The lack of a whole time President and members for the Consumer Disputes Rredressal Forums in North & South Goa Districts was identified as an issue that needs urgent attention.
The dharna demanded the withdrawl of the unjustified rental by BSNL and immediate improvement in Sancharnet services, the immediate stoppage of over charging on the milk products of Goa Dairy & a review of its retail sales setup. That the Govt. immediately intervenes on the Cable TV problem by setting up a Committee to review all issues and that Doordarshan activate its inspection procedures, That the Government initiates state level action on adulterated petrol and restore sales at the Calangute IOC petrol pump immediately.
The dharna also demanded that the PWD prepare monthly water quality reports, which then be made public, to provide Village Panchayats & Municipal Councils with underground pipeline network maps, to hold open house & adalats to settle consumer grievances and conduct Taluka level meetings to explain to consumers the purpose of Goa Provision of Water Supply Bill 2003.
With regards to electricity the consumers demanded that the Electricity Department holds an open house & adalats to settle consumer grievances, appoint a Committee to settle compensation claims,conduct Taluka level meetings to explain to consumers implications of the proposed Corporation and make weekly maintenance compulsory.
There was also a strong demand to extend the Cylinder Home Delivery service to all LPG consumers in the State and that an adequate budget be made for a full time President & members for District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forums
Consumer Forum volunteers who spoke at the dharna were Floriano Fernandes,Merces, Dinesh Mahale, Tivim, Xavier Cota, Betalbatim, Vivek Kulkarni , Nerul, A FG Mascarenhas , Navelim, Francis Cardozo, Socorro, Rama Bomkar, Divar, Jose Rodrigues, Aldona, Adrian Simoes,Candolim, Nancy Pereira, Velim, Lawrence Nazareth, Saligao, Augusta Cardozo, Curca, Thomas Serpes, Calangute,Bonny Moraes,Cuncolim, Karl Pinto D'Souza ,Moira and Xaverito Da Costa from Arossim.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- GOA CIVIC AND CONSUMER ACTION NETWORK --------------------------------------------------------------------------- an initiative of GOA DESC RESOURCE CENTRE to promote civic and consumer rights in Goa --------------------------------------------------------------------------- GOACAN Post Box 78 Mapusa, Goa 403 507 Tel: 2252660 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] website: www.goacan.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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