GUWAHATI: A sudden visit by the Department of Legal Metrology has revealed illegal methods devised by shopkeepers while measuring goods for their customers.
The Legal Metrology Department's recent checks have revealed that shopkeepers resort to unfair means while measuring weights. This is rampant among Chicken sellers across the city, especially in the Chandmari and Six Mile areas of Guwahati.
As per the Assistant Controller, Baben Das, there is an alleged nexus among the shopkeepers who alert each other during a raid. "If we visit the Jalukmari markets to check for weights, shopkeepers in Six miles are alerted. They have a network going on," Das told G Plus.
So far 40 cases have been prosecuted in recent times with two chicken sellers sent to jail. The main issue is of weight manipulation and digital calibration, the officials at the Legal Metrology revealed.
Following the recent checks, the Assistant Controller has stated that cases of manipulation have gone down after they did follow-ups across the city.
Another problem has been of improper enforcement by the authorities. As per an official, there are only 11 staffs, who are involved in different affairs including COVID-19 duty and District Administration duty. As such, at times there are not enough personnel for total scrutiny across the city.
