Toll-free Numbers set up to protect consumers' rights: K Venkata Nageswara Rao

Vijayawada: Civil Supplies Minister K Venkata Nageswara Rao said the state government has amended consumers laws to protect the rights of consumers.

As per the amendment, consumers can lodge complaints from their place of residence and attend the hearing through video conference. He said consumers can file complaints through village and ward secretariats.

Speaking to media persons at the Secretariat on Thursday, the minister said toll-free numbers 1967 and 18004250082 were provided for the benefit of consumers. A campaign will be taken up on additional facilities provided by the state government to protect the interests of consumers. Earlier, consumers are forced to lodge complaint from the place of purchase of their product. He said Consumers Day will be celebrated on December 24.

Nageswara Rao said 1,748 consumer dispute cases were registered in the past 10 months. As many as 4,407 cases are pending. Of them, 97 cases were registered on petrol bunks, 350 cases on fertiliser shops, 175 cases on shopping malls. He said to prevent cheating in weighment of paddy, 93 weigh bridges will be provided.

Testing laboratories will be set up in Vijayawada and Tirupati too in addition to the existing laboratory at Visakhapatnam. He said 15 mobile testing laboratories will be pressed into service.

Referring to purchase of paddy, the minister said that the state government was purchasing paddy directly from farmers and payments will be made within 21 days.