54 cases filed against corporate companies for illegal hoarding

Directorate of National Consumers Right Protection (DNCRP) Director General AHM Shafiquzzaman on Saturday said 54 cases have been filed against some corporate companies as they were found to be involved in irregularities like illegal stockpiling of products and stopping production to increase commodity prices.

"Some corporate companies were found to be involved in irregularities like illegal stockpiling of products and stopping production to increase commodity prices. Fifty-four cases have already been filed against these companies by the Competition Commission," he said.

The DNCRP chief said these while speaking as the chief guest at a 'shadow parliamentary debate' held at Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC) in the capital, said a press release.

Debate for Democracy organised the debate competition on the 'institutional management for ensuring consumers' right with its Chairman Hasan Ahmed Kiran in the chair.

Noting that existing Consumers' Right Protection Act has some limitations and the work of modernising the act is underway, Shafiquzzaman said the maximum punishment for illegal hoarding should be death penalty.

"Political commitment is very important to protect consumers' rights. Political parties can include the issue of consumer rights in their manifestos before the next elections," he said, adding that during the upcoming Eid-ul-Adha, the DNCRP has a plan to conduct operations in sacrificial animal markets to control the price and prevent the artificial crisis.

Speaking at the function, Hasan Ahmed Kiran placed a 10-point recommendation for getting the fruits of institutional management in ensuring consumers' rights.

The suggestions are: political commitment for keeping commodity prices stable and making pledge in the manifestos for the next Jatiya Sangsad election for protecting consumer rights, giving magistracy power to the DNCRP for conducting drives, assigning responsibility for market monitoring through a single agency, ensuring presence of business representatives during conducting mobile courts, making death penalty as the highest punishment for illegal hoarding, dismissing complaints within possible quickest time including holding online hearings, exhibiting the punishments for increasing commodity prices through syndicate and black marketing in front of large markets through TVC and billboards, launching orientation courses on consumers' rights for businessmen and including consumers' rights in trainings for elected local public representatives, establishing regional offices of DNCRP and creating social awareness involving civil society for realising consumer rights.

In the debate competition, Dhaka International University team became champion defeating Eastern University team. The winning team was given trophy and certificate.

Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) / hoarding / case filed