Ahmedabad: The All India Consumer Protection & Action Committee (CPAC) has received more than 70 complaints related to poor food quality and consumers being defrauded by being given less quantity than they paid for during the Diwali festival.
In one case, a person named Harnish Modh bought ten sweet packets at Rs. 1,200 per kilo for gifting to his staff from Vipul Dudhia sweet shop in Ambawadi. The sweets were found to be infected with fungus, leading Modh to approach the CPAC.
In another incident, a textile trader bought 25 boxes of 1-kg sweets from Kandoi Bhogilal Moolchand shop, but the boxes were found to be containing 100-300 gram fewer sweets. The trader complained to the CPAC after he failed to get a proper response from the sweet shop.
In many complaints, sweet shops also included the weight of the packaging while weighing the sweets, and duping customers in the process.
“Many customers get cheated in one way or the other during the period of Diwali. Customers are suffering because authorities are not doing their job,” said Mukesh Parikh, President of CPAC.
In a separate incident, Ami Mehta, a resident of Sola complained to the committee after finding a cockroach in a rajma-rice dish she had ordered from New Freezeland restaurant on Science City Road. She alleged the hotel management gave her evasive replies when she complained, prompting her to approach CPAC.
“We have forwarded the complaint to the health department of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. Authorities should be conducting checks at restaurants and eateries on a regular basis to ensure they comply with basic hygiene and food safety standards,” added Parikh.