SAGALEE, 29 Oct: In a bid to streamline the market regulations and licensing procedures, the Papum Pare district administration started its second district-wide markets inspection, from Sagalee to Toru, on Friday.
Sagalee and Toru Town Magistrates Khoda Oniya and Yang Siram, respectively, led the inspection team in the respective markets.
Trade Development Officer (TDO) Tai Arun appealed to the shopkeepers to refrain from illegally selling unauthorised items like liquor, petrol, and tobacco products.
Citing the stringent punishments incorporated in the Cigarettes & Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 and the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, he cautioned the shopkeepers against selling tobacco products to children below 18 years of age, and urged them to make the schools and religious places tobacco-free zones.
The trading licenses of all the shops were verified, and the traders and the shopkeepers were made aware of the importance of possessing and renewing their trading licenses. New and renewal forms were also distributed.
The inspection team also seized gambling items and imposed penalties on people playing dice without permit at the Friday market here. A penalty of Rs 39,850, collected mostly from repeat offenders, was deposited in the custody of the magistrate. In Toru, all the illegal items seized were destroyed on the spot, in the presence of the magistrate, the Sagalee PS OC, the TDO, and others.
The inspection team comprised officials from the departments of trade & commerce, tax & excise, and the district tobacco control cell, besides the PI, members of the market welfare committees, and police personnel. (DIPRO)
