‘Crackdown on errant cement traders’
Chaminda Perera
Cooperatives and Internal Trade Minister Johnston Fernando yesterday
directed the Consumer Affairs Authority to take stern action against the
traders who sell cement beyond the maximum price stipulated by the
government and those who hide cement stocks to create a shortage in the
market.
The minister’s directive came in the wake of a slight shortfall in
the supply of cement to the country with the closure of a major cement
producing factory in Pakistan.
The Consumer Affairs Authority in a special Gazette Notification has
stipulated the maximum price of 50Kg cement bag at Rs 750.
Minister Fernando said that this shortage will be rectified within a
week.
The Building Material Corporation has also been directed to expedite
the import of cement and distribute them through the corporation. A
large consignment of cement imported by private traders is to reach the
country next week.
Minister Johnston Fernando was of the view that cement can not be
stored more than three months and hoarding of cement in contravention of
the Consumer Affairs Act is illegal. |