Two Day Workshop on “Consumer Protection & Consumer Welfare” at Leh

Two Day Workshop on “Consumer Protection & Consumer Welfare” at Leh

IIPA, J& K Regional Branch in collaboration with Centre for Consumer Studies, IIPA New Delhi and Food Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Department, J& K organized Two Day Workshop on “Consumer Protection & Consumer Welfare” Leh (Ladakh). The Programme was inaugurated by Ms. Sargun Shukla, IPS SSP, Leh. The workshop was attended by over 120 delegates from various departments including Department of FCS & CA, Police, Drugs & Food Control Organization, Legal Metrology, Education Department. This was the first workshop on consumer protection to be organized in Leh. Ms. Sargun Shukla in her address emphasized on the fact that consumer protection is a topic which touches each one of us as consumer. However the problems of consumers are multiplying every day and new challenges are thrown on him. There are many dimensions of consumer rights and consumer awareness & education. We as consumers need to know about all these as well as appropriate legal and policy measures in place to protect us. The police department is involved in every aspect of citizen’s life though it becomes very strenuous at times. We also have great potential to protect the rights of consumers. That’s why we are participating in this workshop so we can be instrumental in protecting the consumers from unfair practices in the market. Prof. Suresh Misra, Chair-Professor & Coordinator, CCS, Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi in his introductory remarks said that globalization, liberalisation and new technological developments have given rise to consumerism. E-commerce is on a rise due to many advantages associated with it. But at the same time it has made the consumers more vulnerable. They face problems of fake products, defective products, misleading offer and schemes. At National Consumer Helpline we receive around 45,000 complaints monthly; 20 percent of these relate to e-commerce. Thus there is need for better protection mechanism in light of new problems which are cropping. The new Consumer Protection Bill, 2018 is having many new provisions to deal with these. Prof. Misra emphasized that only consumer education and awareness can empower the consumers. Shri C. Phunsog IAS (Retd.), Former Chief Secretary, J&K in his presidential remarks said that market cannot exist without consumers. That’s why traders and service providers should ensure consumers’ satisfaction. We have the legislation in the form of Consumer Protection Act, 1986 to safeguard the interests of consumers. The Act provides six rights to consumers and appropriate mechanism to protect these rights. It is duty of the government to ensure protection of consumers’ rights through appropriate implementation of law and policy for benefit of consumers. The government has dual responsibility, to keep both consumers and traders happy. The government has to ensure ‘Value for Money’ for consumers and ‘Money for Value’ for traders. The consumers also have responsibilities beside their rights which they should fulfill. He emphasized if the officials have will they can bring many changes in existing framework for the betterment of the consumers. He shared many instances when he has took steps to regulate the prices of meat and other food commodities as DC Leh. Ms. Ruth Merry, Asstt. Director, FCS&CA, Leh presented Vote of Thanks on the occasion. In the two days there were a number of sessions on various issues of consumer protection. The experts who spoke on day one included Prof Suresh Misra who provided an overview of the consumer protection scenario in India. Dr. Sapna Chadah, Assistant Professor, CCS, IIPA. She traced the development of law and policy relating to consumer protection. Shri Nisar Ahmed Wani, Director FCS & CA, Kashmir spoke on PDS- Expectations of Consumers elaborating the steps taken by department to ensure availability of essential commodities in the region. Shri Vishal Ray, Faculty J&KEDI discussed the rights of the consumers in tourism sector, the problems faced by them and mechanism being evolved to ensure better services to consumers in the sector. On day two four sessions related to the theme of the workshop were held. In session on “Consumer Education and Awareness” Prof Suresh Misra talked about standardization, quality marks, and various schemes and programmes of government to generate awareness among consumers. In the session on “Banking and Consumer” Shri Abdul Rashid, LDM, SBI, Leh spoke on issues related to Banking and Consumers. He highlighted the functioning of the Banking Ombudsman, how and when consumers can approach the ombudsman, and what reliefs are granted by the ombudsman. There were also sessions on “Medical Service and Consumers” by Dr. Sapna Chadah, and “Drug Safety and Consumers” by Shri Bashir Ahmed, Drug Controller, Leh. Shri Dorjay Motup, Chief Executive Counsellor, LAHDC was the Chief Guest for the Valedictory Session. He facilitated the dignitaries and presented mementos on successful completion of the two day workshop. In the feedback session the participants appreciated the programme and expressed their desire that such workshops should be organized more often in Leh for the benefit of consumers. Earlier Dr. Ashwani Jojra, Founder President, Sahyog, India in his welcome address emphasized on the strengthening the role of enforcement agencies for better resolution of consumer grievances. Prof. Suresh Misra presented a detail report on the proceedings of the two day workshop and emphasized on the establishment of State Level Consumer Helpline and introduction of consumer protection in school curriculum for empowering the youth. He said that consumer responsibilities are as important as duties and we all need to be vigilant consumers. Lt Col Karan Singh presented the formal vote of thanks. .