Agartala 24 December, 2024: The government aims to raise public awareness about consumer rights and the laws designed to protect them. Speaking at the inauguration of the National Consumer Day celebration at Pragya Bhavan, Food Minister Sushanta Chowdhury emphasized the importance of educating people about consumer laws to ensure they can take appropriate action when faced with fraud. The event was organized by the Department of Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs.
Addressing the gathering, the Minister highlighted how the digital era has brought new challenges, with consumers often falling prey to fraud but failing to act due to a lack of awareness. “The financial loss may not always be significant, but the mentality of certain business operators to deceive customers is tarnishing societal values,” he remarked.
The Minister also announced upcoming initiatives, including collaborative seminars involving the Transport, Home, and Food & Consumer Affairs Departments. These seminars, to be held at various colleges, will focus on road safety, illegal drug use, and the “Jago Grahak Jago” campaign. Similar programs are planned at the state level to further promote consumer awareness.
This year, the theme for National Consumer Day is “Virtual Hearings and Digital Access to Consumer Justice.” The event saw participation from representatives of merchant associations, students and teachers from various schools and colleges, and ration shop dealers.
Sanjay Bhattacharya, Secretary of the Department of Law, stated that protecting consumer interests is the primary objective of consumer laws. Other speakers included retired District Session Judge Ruhidas Pal and Joint Director of the Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs Department, Abhijit Biswas.
Dignitaries present at the event included Sub-Divisional Magistrates Maniklal Das (Sadar), Subhash Dutta (Mohanpur), and Shantiranjan Chakma (Jirania), among others.
