Lions Club organizes consumer awareness programme

Lions Club organizes consumer awareness programme

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Jan 16: A consumers’ awareness programme and legal workshop was organized at Lions Seva Mandir, Mallikatte, on January 16, Saturday. K Ramanna, the president of the Karnataka State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Bangalore, inaugurated the event. 

 

In his inaugural speech, he said that cities comprise a larger percentage of literate people; so, awareness programmes must be organized in rural areas. People of cities such as Mangalore and Bangalore are aware of their rights and do not hesitate to approach the consumers’ court. However, people are Mangalore are reluctant to fight for their rights, he observed. 

He said that consumers are protected by certain laws. But they should have the knowledge to use them at the right time and situation. Companies usually cheat people by not giving them bills; and people accept this because they want to save on vat tax. Consumers of educational and medical services are also protected by consumer laws, he informed. 

District-in-charge Minister Krishna J Palemar said that awareness programmes must be held in order to prevent companies from harassing and bullying consumers. The consumers’ problems must be solved within a week of registering the complaint. If the process is prolonged, other consumers in trouble will never approach the consumer’s court. Laws must also be made to protect companies from consumers who make unnecessary trouble. The case must be heard in the same city in which it is registered instead of being held in other places and wasting consumers’ time and money. 

H R Deshpande, the judge of the district and session court in DK, and I G P Gopal Hosur, Western Range, were the chief guest of the occasion. Ln MJF Alvin Patricks Patrao, the governor of the Lions Club; S P Chengappa, the president of the Mangalore Bar Association; and Dr B K Ravindra, the principal of SDM College were also present for the programme.