Raids on Atapirikara shops pay dividends

Chamikara Weerasinghe

With the Consumer Affairs Protection Authority (CAA) investigation teams raiding shops selling Atapirikara, the fake and substandard Atapirikara products have vanished from the market. Consumer Affairs Authority Director General J. M. A. Douglas said it appears that all inferior Atapirikara products have disappeared from the market.

“However, the raids are continuing throughout the island with a mission to rid the country of substandard Atapirikara sales,” he said.

CAA investigators conducted raids in Kandy, Colombo, Galle and Matara, and Badulla districts on Monday. Forty traders were arrested during these raids for selling low quality Atapirikara in their shops.

As confirmed by officials attached to CAA Office in Kandy, there are no shops stocked with substandard Atapirikara items in the Kandy town.

The traders have removed the substandard Atapirikara pooja items, which they used to sell between Rs 1,000 and Rs 3,000 at shops, the officials said.

An average price of an Atapirikara is around Rs 4,000 in the Kandy town, they said.

Co-operatives and Internal Trade Minister Johnston Fernando on Monday instructed CAA Chairman Rumy Marzook to conduct raids on establishments selling Atapirikara on the direction of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to take immediate measures to put an end to the trade of substandard Atapirikara in the country.

The President had been apprised of the availability of inferior Atapirikara products in the market by the Mahanayake Theras of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters.

President Rajapaksa had reportedly told the Internal Trade Ministry officials that Atapirikara should not become yet another trade item in the market, and they are to be treated with due reverence.

Meanwhile, the CA A and Sri Lanka Standards Institute have been instructed to stipulate new quality standards in the production and sale of Atapirikara.

According to the existing and accepted standards for Atapirikara that were gazetted on a recommendation by the Buddha Sasana Ministry under the Consumer Protection Authority Act, the items should conform to Sri Lanka Standard SLS 1257 and SLS 1258.