------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------- Short weighing of rice bags exposed in raid -------------------------------------------------------- If you have been buying rice in bulk in the past, chances are high that your rice bag may have been short of weight.The legal metrology department officials conducted raids on two traders at Ravanfond, near Margao and Gudi, Paroda and found that the bags were either short of weight, by even as much as 400 grams in a few cases, or details of the month and year of manufacture and name and address of the manufacturer were glaringly missing in the mandatory declaration on the bag.
While the officials seized 261 packages of rice worth Rs 90,000, 41 of these bags found in the premises of one shop were all short of weight. Each of the package of 25 kg had 150 grams to 400 gram less in it.
As per the rules, the maximum permissible error in weight is 100 grams to make concessions for loss of grain during transit. However, all bags of a particular brand stored by this trader were short of weight, indicative of the rampant cheating of consumers by the packager of this particular brand.
While the legal metrology department has cracked down heavily on various traders in recent times in a bid to create awareness among consumers and bring the traders in line, the raids on rice traders have been conducted perhaps after a long gap.
In the second case, the officials seized 220 packages of rice seized under panchanama. However, these packages from Andhra Pradesh were not bearing the declaration such as the name and address of manufacturer, month and year of packing, as required mandatorily as per the weights and measures statues in force.
In the first case, the packages which weighed less also did not bear the name and address of the packer, month and year of packing and also the net quantity.
Authorities conceded that it was difficult for consumers to check the weight of packages but a source while admitting that malpractices may be rampant suggested that the packages be checked with other traders to verify their weight..
The inspections were conducted under the Standard of Weights and Measures Act 1976, The Standards of Weights and Measures (Enforcement) Act 1985 and Standards of Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules 1977 by assistant controller, D P Kholkar and inspector Prasad Shirodkar under the direction of Controller of Legal Metrology, Panaji N.M Naik. --------------------------------------- Gomantak Times 5/3/04 page 1 ----------------------------------------
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