VIJAYAWADA: Only 25 per cent of people of the city are aware of their consumer rights, said Consumer Guidance Society president Divakar Babu.
“If we consider the entire State, a maximum of 40 per cent of the urban population and only 10 per cent of the rural population is aware of consumer rights,” he said.
Speaking to TNIE on Sunday on the occasion of World Consumer Rights Day, he said, “The main reason for such a low consumer awareness among people is lack of education to majority of masses. There is a need to educate children from the school level on consumer rights. One cannot exercise his rights effectively unless he knows that such things are provided by our Constitution,” he said.
On consumer cases, he said more than 500 cases are pending in different consumer forums in the State for the past one year. “The State definitely has much more number of consumer grievances, but they are not filed,” he said. Only a maximum of 300 complaints are filed in the 26 consumer forums in the state a year.
“This is 10 times less than the number of complaints registered in Gujarat, which is considered to be the ideal State in consumer awareness in India,” he said.
Unawareness of one’s rights coupled with improper functioning of consumer forums is the main reason for such low number of complaints registered.
“This apart our country lacks a consumer-friendly atmosphere. People are afraid of being tagged. These are the biggest barriers to achieve the goal of 100 per cent consumer satisfaction in India,” he said.
Provisions of Consumer Protection Act, 2019
Any celebrity, who is a brand ambassador for any product, has to mention about its possible side-effects if any.
If the details are not advertised by the celebrities, they are liable to punishment under the Act.
The celebrities can be barred from a few activities for a specific period, depending on the intensity of loss incurred by consumers due to their brand promotion.
It removes the constraint of jurisdiction to file a complaint by a consumer, besides allowing e-filing of complaints.
It also recognises the concept of product liability.