KATHMANDU, March 20: Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM), Kathmandu, has taken action against 7.944 traders who cheated consumers by tampering with weighing instruments.
In the eight months of the current fiscal year, the office has taken action against nearly 8,000 traders who cheated consumers by using weighing machines that measure randomly.
Nirajan Pudasaini, information officer of NSBM, said that the office has increased special vigilance due to the increase in incidents of cheating consumers through measuring devices. He said, “During the monitoring, it was found that some traders had not registered their measuring devices and even the registered traders have not renewed them.”
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The office has also granted permission to 2,075 traders to use measuring scales and weighing devices and also renewed their licenses till mid-March. The information officer Pudasaini said that the office has intensified the work of market monitoring with limited resources and means, and conducted 125 single monitoring and 116 joint market monitoring for the protection of consumer rights and interests.
In the eight months of the current year, 5,869 traders have got their weighing scales devices checked by the office. Similarly, 415 petroleum product distribution pumps have been checked, 79 vehicle tanks have been checked, and 5,070 taxi meters have been checked.
Rakesh Kumar Jha, the head of the NBSM, says that since there has been an increase in deliberately cheating customers, the office has prioritized action. “Anyone who intentionally cheats the consumers will be prosecuted,” he said.
The office has collected a revenue of Rs 10.35 million in eight months of the current year. The office is currently monitoring and taking action against those who make mistakes in measuring scales in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Kavrepalanchok, Sindhupalchok, Dolakha, Dhading, Nuwakot and Rasuwa.
