Every year National Consumers Rights Day is celebrated on 24th December in Jammu & Kashmir state and other parts of the country just for the sake of a formality and not purposefully to address the concerns of consumers. The reasons being that it has become a precedence that the celebrating National Consumers Rights Day has been restricted to wide publicity of the seminars, conferences and debates through electronic and print media but no new features of consumers’ interests are announced here in Jammu & Kashmir state. People concerned with the protection of consumers in Jammu & Kashmir want the government to invoke tough measures for the protection of consumers from anti-public tactics of influential and dominating industrialists and traders particularly during the chilly season of winter in Kashmir valley, but the helmsmen never pay heed to the concerns of consumer even on the day National Consumers Rights day is celebrated in the state . A consumer is obliged to know about his right enacted by law making bodies. So it may be noted here that Consumer Protection Act enacted by parliament in the year 1986 is though designed to protect consumer rights to ensure fair competition and free flow of truthful information in the market place, but the rights of consumers are randomly violated by traders in connivance with the field functionaries of the department of the state government’s Consumer Affairs & Public Distribution (CA&PD) department infamous for inaction .
Individually, it might be difficult for any consumer to fight against unscrupulous traders and providers of the services most of whom are ever ready to cheat the consumer, but the consumers are at liberty to organise themselves in consumer protection groups in the form of NGOs or join some already recognized NGOs’ and approach fearlessly the agencies empowered to fight for the consumer rights.
So the fact remains that the helmsmen in the Consumers Affairs & Public Distribution (CA&PD) department known for inaction have virtually become protectors of those suppressing the rights of consumers and not the protectors of the rights of consumer. Knowing that the laws are designed to contemplate actions against businessmen and service providers facing charges of engaging in fraud or specified unfair practices for gaining an advantage over competitors and provide additional protection for the weak and those unable to take care of themselves, the field functionaries of the Consumer Affairs & Public Distribution (CA&PD) department are going hand in glove with the traders engaged in fleecing the gullible consumers in violation of the consumers act 1986. Though the National Consumers Rights Day is celebrated in the country with an intention to create awareness among the consumers about their rights so that every consumer assert his rights and discharges his responsibility while making purchases and availing services including the government services such as electric supply, water supply, health care, telephone facility etc., but the debates, seminars and conferences on the National Consumers Rghts Day are restricted to wide publicity of government achievements listed on papers and invisible on ground. So it needs to be clarified to the people in Kashmir that as the Consumer Protection Act provides complete protection to the consumers it has become imperative for the consumer to be well aware of his rights under the Act. So a consumer should keep himself informed about the quality, quantity, composition and all details of the purchase he is going to make. It is only way for the consumer to protect his rights. Individually, it might be difficult for any consumer to fight against unscrupulous traders and providers of the services most of whom are ever ready to cheat the consumer, but the consumers are at liberty to organise themselves in consumer protection groups in the form of NGOs or join some already recognized NGOs’ and approach fearlessly the agencies empowered to fight for the consumer rights. Since consumer has rights to make enquiries before purchasing or hiring any service, so he has the rights to protects his interests on his own.
