Fair price shops come into operation; Ticket bookings for Dashain to open from Sept 7

Kathmandu / Sept 1: The Ministry of Supplies has brought into operation the fair price shops to ease the supply of daily consumption goods in view of the upcoming festivals.

Four agencies under the Ministry including Salt Trading Corporation, Nepal Food Corporation, National Trading Corporation and Dairy Development Corporation have jointly brought into operation the fair price shops from today.

The shops have been operated from different 22 places including Kalimati, Teku, Satungal, Koteswor, Jawalakhel, Suryabinayak, Kalanki, Banepa and Biratnagar.

The Salt Trading Corporation has also run three mobile service centres.

The daily consumption goods such as salt, sugar, rice, oil, flour, pulses and milk products, are available in the fair price shops.

Minister for Supplies Shiva Kumar Mandal today inaugurated a fair-price shop being operated by the Ministry at local Ram Shah Path today.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister Mandal expressed the belief that such subsidised shops would help in the smooth and regular supply of essential commodities to consumers during festival time.

Minister of State Karna Bahadur BK said the government would bring into operation such shops in the remote areas as well.

Chief Executive Officer of the Salt Trading Corporation Urmila Shrestha said the corporation has made arrangements for providing special discount on salt, sugar and food commodities during the festival time.

General Manager of the National Trading Corporation Lava Raj Joshi and General Manager of Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) Ganga Timilsina shed light on the various activities carried out by their respective corporations.

Ticket bookings for Dashain to open from Sept 7

Meanwhile, advanced bookings of bus tickets for the upcoming Dashain festival is scheduled to be opened from Thursday (September 7). The decision was made in view of the festive rush when hundreds of thousands of Nepalis leave Capital to be with their families for Dashain celebration.

A meeting among the Department of Transport Management (DoTM), Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs Association (FNNTEA), Traffic Police and representatives from Consumers’ Welfare Protection Forum held in the Capital on Friday made the decision to this effect.

Officials at the FNNTEA, an umbrella organisation of domestic transport entrepreneurs, said that the date for booking the bus tickets was finalised after the Transport Management agreed to put carriers and hood on the public vehicles.

Earlier, the government had said that the public vehicles would not be allowed to put hood and carriers in buses citing risks of accidents.

Director General at the DoTM, transportation regulatory body, Rup Narayan Bhattarai said if any buses are found carrying passengers on the roof, the traffic police would seize the documents of the vehicle and punish them according to the law.

General Secretary at the FNNTEA Saroj Sitaula said that they are ready to face any kind of punishment if any public buses carry passengers on the roof.

During the festive season, especially Dashain, public buses are seen carrying passengers on the roof making the journey risky.

A meeting of between the stakeholders, however, will finalise the ticket fee on Monday, said Sitaula.

According to DoTIM estimate, as many as 2.5 million people are set to leave the Valley to celebrate the festival this year.