Nagaland: NVCO urges consumers to be aware of their rights

Dimapur: The Nagaland Voluntary Consumers’ Organisation (NVCO) urged all consumers to exercise and also be aware of their rights.

This was stated ahead of the National Consumers’ Day which happens every year on 24^th December.

NVCO president Kezhokhoto Savi on Thursday appealed to every citizen to remain alert while buying goods and availing services at all times keeping in mind the slogan “An alert consumer is an asset to the Nation.”

Savi further exhorted every consumer to take proper care to check weights, read and understand the information provided on the goods, obtain cash memos/receipts and check the quality and quantity, ISI mark, AGMARK, MRP, etc.

He said the National Consumers’ Day provides an opportunity to highlight the importance of the consumer movement and the need to make the consumer more aware of their rights and responsibilities.

Savi, who is a national award recipient for consumer protection and advocate by profession, said the National Consumers’ Day is considered a historic milestone in the consumer movement in the country.

“Today the Consumer Protection Act, of 2019 has completely replaced the Consumer Protection Act, of 1986,” he added.

Savi stressed that the need to create awareness of consumer rights and duties is very important, especially in rural areas, and that the responsibility for this rests with each one of us and also the various government agencies.

He added that the state government has to play a vital role in promoting the welfare of consumers and the protection of their rights.

“The practices in our society such as fund-raise by way of selling lottery tickets/raffle draw/ cooked packed food/buffet tickets/calendar, unfair means of practices in weights and measures, selling expiry goods, removal of original price tags like motor parts and students text/exercises books, etc. are amounting to consumer rights exploitation,” he pointed out.