Staff shortage cripples Legal Metrology Dept in Srikakulam

Srikakulam: The traders are cheating the customers by violating rules as weights and measurements (legal metrology) department failed to act against violations. During the festival everyone wants to buy sweets, gold and crackers.

To cash the situation, traders are cheating the customers and earning more money by violating all rules. The department officials and staff even failed to fulfil four primary functions, creating awareness among public on importance of weights and measures, advise traders and customers to avoid violations, warn traders on rules and regulations and conducting regular checks and register cases.

It is mandatory that every product should have date of manufacturing, content of product, minimum retail price (MRP), clear address of manufacturer, no of pieces in the packet or weight of packet. If any of the above ingredients is missing on packaged product, the officials can book case on charges of violation of rules against the traders.

In the wake of Deepavali festival, 436 cases booked across the state for violation of rules. Of them, 196 cases on crackers' traders, 199 on gold shops and 41 on sweet shops. But in Srikakulam only four cases booked for violations.

They confined only to register ten cases. Of it four cases against crackers shops owners and six against sweet shops owners. The district has one district inspector and three divisional inspectors at Srikakulam, Palasa and Narasannapeta should be filled. In each office clerical and subordinate staff is required.

In Srikakulam, one district inspector available at the office and the remaining three inspectors' posts are lying vacant and in-charges are operating from Visakhapatnam. As a result, they have lacked knowledge and information on violations. "The number of cases booked is very poor," admitted district inspector S Visweswara Rao. Due to lack of staff, we are unable to maintain vigil on all shops, he added.