The DAO has also assigned a market regulating officer to keep an eye on the bazaar although consumer rights activists have been calling for market inspection officers in all the districts.

Lalitpur Chief District Officer Yadav Prasad Koirala said a team led by administrative officer Chaumendra Neupane and market regulating officer Ram Prasad Gyawali had been checking the market in both urban and rural areas on a regular basis.

“The DAO team visits the market at least five times a week, thrice in the city

and twice in the villages,” Koirala said.  

According to DAO officials, they have been instructed to inspect groceries, cafeterias, sweet shops, restaurants, food stalls, butcher shops, petrol pumps, pharmacies and hospitals to keep tabs on the freshness of the goods, price tags and hygiene.

Administrative officer Koirala said that sale of date expired goods, dirty and unhygienic eateries and shops not displaying their price list are a few of the anomalies they usually find during their inspection rounds.

“We destroy date expired goods in the presence of the police and consumer rights activists while booking the vendors,’ said Koirala. DAO officials said that spreading awareness about consumer rights was another of their tasks.

“We have been conducting mass awareness programmes on consumer rights and the ill effects of consuming date expired and unhygienic goods by distributing pamphlets and holding interactions with local people,” said Ram Prasad Gyawali, market monitoring officer at the DAO, Lalitpur.