Butwal, June 25: Consumers are being cheated time and again due to ineffective implementation of the Consumer Interest Protection Act.

Delivering under weight commodities for the full price is considered clever by businessmen instead of feeling guilty at voilating the law.

As only one food inspector is available for 1.2 million people in Nepal and half the inspectors reside in Kathmandu, it is difficult to detect cases of adulteration and sale of under weight goods.

According to food invigilators, there is a widespread practice of adulterating milk with water and soda starch, ghee with vegetables and fat, honey with sugar, dry tea and wood dust, edible oil with mineral oil and chemicals, sugar with chalk powder, chilly power with brick dust, and turmeric with wheat and maize flour.

Similarly, it is also found that pigeon pea and lentils are adulterated with other seeds and black coloured objects, black pepper with papaya seeds and meat with yellow colouring.

A survey conducted by RONAST reveals that adulteration amounts to 47.7 percent in sweets, 22 per cent in snacks, 74 per cent in titoura and 32 per cent in noodles.

These details were disclosed at an interaction programme on relevance of the consumer interest protection act 2054 and a role for the local bodies in effective implementation of the act organised by the Consumer Interest Protection Forum, Rupendehi.

During the interaction, participants pointed out that since the fines imposed on those involved in adulteration and selling commodities under weight are low, they are not detered.

They also complained that it has become a tradition here to extract some quantity from a sack or a package containing designated quantities before selling the sack or package.