CCI urges Telangana government to establish price control committees

The Consumer Confederation of India has urged the Telangana government to establish price control committees amid rising commodity prices. At a Hanamkonda programme, its representatives raised concerns over food adulteration and announced an awareness campaign against antibiotic misuse across Telangana

Hanamkonda: The Consumer Confederation of India (CCI) has demanded the State government to immediately establish the price control committees to curb the rising costs of essential commodities in Telangana.

The CCI national vice-president Dr. Pallepadu Damodar expressed concern that traders were creating artificial shortages, citing El Niño as a pretext, to hike prices indiscriminately. The prices of cooking oil, rice and pulses have gone up significantly, especially ahead of the festive season.

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Speaking at a consumer awareness programme here, Dr. Damodar pointed out that consumers were being deceived through inflated maximum retail prices (MRP) printed on various commodities. For instance five liters of cooking oil sold at Rs 1,200, for 25 kg of rice at Rs 1,900, one kg sugar at Rs 60 and one kg tur dal at Rs 120.

He urged authorities to take action against these practices and called for the immediate formation of price control committees, comprising consumer representatives, at both the district and State levels to address the issue.

The CCI national general secretary Sambaraju Chakrapani complained that there has been an alarming level of food adulteration at various stages, including production. Similarly there has been excessive presence of antibiotics residue in vegetables, as well as in chicken and mutton.

It was leading young women to develop PCOD (Polycystic Ovarian Disease), obesity, and other ovarian disorders. If this trend continues, the reproductive capacity of women in India could eventually be severely compromised, he worried.

The confederation national secretary Mogilicherla Sudarshan announced that a large-scale awareness campaign, titled ‘Antibiotics off the Menu,’ would be launched in all Telangana districts. Courts intervention would be sought to ensure that the department responsible for preventing food adulteration performs its duties more effectively, he said.

The consumer body city president G. Neelima urged college-going girls to completely abandon the habit of consuming junk food, expressing deep concern that women were becoming the primary victims of food adulteration.