The Department of Commerce and Supply Management (DoCSM) handed over Bishwo Gurung of Bishwo Hardware, Balaju to Metropolitan Police Circle Office, Balaju and the owner of Khani Khola Enterprises of Chuchepati to Metropolitan Police Circle Office, Singha Durbar after they were found overcharging customers.
They were charging customers up to Rs 1,000 more for a bundle of corrugated roofing sheets.DoCSM officials said that action will be taken against the two distributors under the Black Marketeering and Some Other Social Offences Act, 2023 as they were arbitrarily increasing the price at a time when the demand for corrugated roofing sheets has soared.
Following the April 25 earthquake which destroyed hundreds of thousands of houses, the demand for corrugated sheets for putting up temporary shelter for quake victims has increased manifold.
Maket inspectors found Balaju-based Bishwo Hardware charging Rs 7,400 per 55 kg bundle of 7.3 mm corrugated roofing sheets of the Hulas brand although manufacturer Hulas Steel Industries had fixed the price at Rs 6,400 for Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Banepa areas. Likewise, Khani Khola Enterprises of Chuchepati was found charging customers a higher price for corrugated sheets of lower quality and quantity.
The two distributors were found acting in contravention of the decision of domestic manufacturers of corrugated roofing sheets, who had vowed Friday not to increase the price.
In view of possible anomalies in prices, the government had urged manufacturers not to increase the price of corrugated roofing sheets over the price prevailing before the earthquake struck.
Acknowledging the government's urgings, the manufacturers had vowed not to increase the price immediately. Moreover, they had also published the prices in newspapers. The prices depended on quality, quantity and distance from the market.
"Our investigations of purchase bills showed that the distributors were clearly cheating customers," Hari Narayan Belbase, the monitoring head of the department, told Republica, adding, "We handed over the owners of the firms to police and have urged the latter to take action as soon as possible."
The department monitored around a dozen corrugated roofing sheet retailers across the Valley after complaints were registered against them.
Meanwhile, Madhav Timalsina, president of Consumer Rights Investigation Forum, said that such anomalies are rampant in the market following the earthquake. "The government needs to intensify its monitoring activities and reachi every nook and corner of the market. The monitoring should also be result-oriented," he said.
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