Reports of shopkeepers selling items at exorbitant prices during the lockdown period are pouring in from various parts of the state. The officials of the legal metrology department at Lohit district recently booked five shopkeepers for using erroneous scales and unverified weights and measures.
In the capital region too, the legal metrology department has booked some traders for selling items at exorbitant prices.
However, the citizens complain that despite the intervention by the department, some of the shopkeepers are still selling items at high prices.
First of all, it is unethical on the part of the shopkeepers to use a pandemic to loot the public. They should be ashamed of their behaviour. At a time when people are struggling to survive, some shopkeepers seem to be more concerned with making profit.
However, it will be wrong to put all business communities under one umbrella. Many have risen to the occasion and in fact have donated food items to the needy people.
The legal metrology department also have been found wanting during this whole crisis. They intervened only when people started making a hue and cry.
It is their job to regularly carry out inspections in order to ensure that no shopkeeper indulges in malpractice. This practice of conducting inspection only when people start complaining should be put to an end.