Ensuring smooth supplies, curbing black marketeering govt's priorities: Home Minister

Home Minister Shakti Bahadur Basnet has said ensuring smooth supply of essentials and controlling black marketeering are the priorities of the government when the country is going through an adverse situation.

Taking part in a discussion programme on 'measures to control black market' organised by the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) Kathmandu chapter here Thursday, the Home Minister said the government had adopted a strong policy to discourage black marketeering surfaced in the country with the disruption of supplies system owing to Nepal-India border problems. He urged everyone to immediately inform the police, respective District Administration Office or even the Home Ministry if any incident of black marketeering came into their notice.

Also speaking on the occasion, Metropolitan Police Commissioner's Office Chief, Additional Inspector General of Police Pratap Singh Thapa, said police in the past four months arrested 121 people on charge of involvement in black marketeering while cases have been filed against 80.

Director General of Department of Commerce Shambhu Koirala said black marketeering would automatically flourish when there was an imbalance between the demand and supply sides. The Department was doing its best to discourage this trend, he added.

FNJ Kathmandu Chapter Govinda Chaulagai and Consumers Welfare Forum representative Pramlal Maharjan accused the government of failing to implement standard measures to control the black marketeering. RSS