Mumbai: NGO launches signature campaign against overcharging

Intensifying the Legal Metrology Organisation’s (LMO) campaign against the menace of overcharging, NGO Yuva Prathisthan along with locals from Ghatkopar organised a signature campaign outside Asalpha metro station on Sunday.

Intensifying the Legal Metrology Organisation’s (LMO) campaign against the menace of overcharging, NGO Yuva Prathisthan along with locals from Ghatkopar organised a signature campaign outside Asalpha metro station on Sunday.

The NGO has collected more than 1,750 signatures and 250 complaints, which i t will soon submit to the LMO, the dairy development commissioner and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Through this signature campaign, the NGO’s volunteers tried to spread awareness about laws related to overcharging.

They also provided citizens the helpline numbers on which overcharging- related complaints could be lodged.

“During the signature campaign, we realised many are not even aware of where they could register their complaints. Some were clueless about overcharging being an offence,” said Pankaj Mishra, a Ghatkopar-based finance consultant.

“We are trying to reach out to all classes of people so that the fleecing reduces,” said Mishra.

The NGO plans to conduct a similar campaign at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) soon.

Meanwhile, t he Mumbai Grahak Panchayat (MGP) has directed all its activists to register maximum complaints with the LMO, so that a majority of the offenders are booked. “While spreading awareness about the overcharging menace, our activists have been registering 7 to 8 complaints every day,” said Shubhada Chaukar, a member of the MGP.

But the menace can be effectively tackled if the dairy development department and the FDA also take proactive steps, said an LMO official.

“We are flooded with complaints on a daily basis and are trying to attend to maximum complaints. But to uproot this menace, other departments including the dairy development and FDA should join in,” said the official, requesting anonymity.