KATHMANDU, Sept 16: The government-owned Food Management and Trade Company (FMTC) will operate fair price shops at 43 locations from tomorrow. The FMTC will operate the shops at 43 locations in 39 districts where it has branch offices.
The government has been operating fair price shops during Dashain, Tihar and Chhath festivals every year. Sharmila Neupane, information officer for the company, informed Republica that the fair price shops will be brought into operation from September 17.
Fair price shops across country
According to her, the company will give a Rs 5 discount on rice, pulses, beaten rice, flour and oil this year and a Rs 10 discount on soybean oil, meat and Karnali beans. The company has stated that food items will be distributed at reasonable prices from the Thapathali, Ramshahpath, Nakkhu, Lagankhel and Suryabinayak sales centers in the Kathmandu Valley.
Similarly, food items will be sold from Banepa, Biratnagar, Birtamod, Hetauda, Narayangarh, Bhairahawa, Butwal, Nepalgunj, Pokhara, Dang, Surkhet, Dhangadhi, Mahendranagar and Dadeldhura. The FMTC has said that it is unlikely to bring mountain goats this year. The company had stopped the sale and distribution of mountain goats even last year due to COVID-19.
Along with the FMTC, the Salt Trading Corporation and Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) have stated that they will operate fair price shops at their sales outlets. Earlier, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies had instructed three companies to distribute food items without creating crowds to avoid COVID-19 infection.
The fair price shops will be operational till November 10.
