Social movement a must to ensure consumer rights: citizens

Consumers are often deprived of their rights in Bangladesh, citizens and civil society members in the port city said yesterday.

“Consumers are deprived of the rights of getting safe food, safe drink, safe medicine and so on,” said Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, former first vice president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

He spoke on the occasion of World Consumer Rights Day.

“Most restaurants, no matter how expensive, do not maintain proper hygiene during food preparation and preservation of materials,” he said.

Adulterated food and medicine are sold everywhere and diagnostic centres and clinics impose arbitrary charge to customers, and there is no accountability, he said.

He also criticised the lack of activity on the part of the consumer rights organisations.

“We see sporadic anti-adulteration drives by mobile courts, but random drives and imposed fines cannot be a permanent solution.”

Government organisations responsible for protecting consumer rights, including Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute (BSTI) and National Consumer Rights Protection Directorate, need to be more active, he said.

“Social awareness is very important to protect consumer rights, and consumers' platforms, including Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), have failed to create such a movement.”

Lack of proper monitoring leads to violation of consumer rights, said Serajul Islam Chowdhury, president of Peshajibi Shomonnoy Parishad, Chittagong.

The Chittagong district administration and Chittagong Metro-politan Police started a formalin test campaign last year, but the campaign did not continue for long, he said.

“We see the public transports to charge arbitrary fares on different routes, as if there is nobody to control them,” he said. 

Consumer platforms must create more pressure on the monitoring agencies and a citizens' movement is crucial to that, he said.

Consumers are largely silent here, said SM Nazer Hossain, vice president of CAB.

Consumers rarely show up during efforts to take legal action against the wrongdoers, he said.

“I agree that we have failed to create a strong social movement, but we are quite helpless if consumers do not respond,” he said.

“But we are working to create mass awareness on the issue,” he said.