KOCHI: When quality masks and other essential products like pulse oximeters are crucial for Covid prevention and treatment, the legal metrology department’s central zone has registered 116 cases for selling them without proper declarations on the packets since the lockdown was declared in the state this year. Of these, 42 cases were registered in Ernakulam district alone for selling substandard masks and pulse oximeters without declaration.
As per the data with the department’s central zone, covering Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad and Idukki districts, 211 cases had been registered for overcharging, selling essential products without declarations, tampering with MRPs and irregularities in weight from May 10 to June 30. As many as 72 cases were registered for selling masks without proper declarations on the packets, nine for overcharging for masks and two for tampering with MRPs. Similarly, 35 cases were registered for selling pulse oximeters without product declarations, one case for overcharging for an oximeter and five cases of selling it after tampering with MRPs. Six cases were registered for overcharging for sanitisers.
“Several products have been found being sold without any descriptions on the packets, especially of the manufacturer. This has happened mostly in the case of masks. Some traders buy masks and pulse oximeters in bulk and sell them in retail without proper packing or product descriptions. Good-quality masks, sanitisers and pulse oximeters will have details of the manufacturer, MRP and packaged content on the packets. The consumers should be careful while buying these products,” saaid central zone joint controller J C Jeeson.
The zone collected fines to the tune of K1.1 lakh for overcharging, K5.5 lakh for selling products without declaration and K3.23 lakh for selling products after tampering with MRP or weight manipulation.“The number of cases was high during the lockdown imposed in May. Now, the cases have come down. However, our squads are active at district and taluk levels. We carried out 1,977 inspections during the lockdown in four central districts of the state. We received 53 complaints. We are also conducting various special drives to prevent fleecing of consumers by traders,” Jeeson said.
Though the legal metrology department was not included in the essential service category when the lockdown was announced, its squads were operational. “Initially, our department was not permitted to work after being not included in essential services. However, considering the possibility of overcharging, the department received a special permission. We have control rooms in each district and the public can approach us with complaints,” a senior officer in Thiruvananthapuram said. As many as 48 cases for overcharging were registered by the police in Ernakulam district in May.