Syndicates in cahoots with Dispur, alleges traders' body

By Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, May 3: The Assam Chamber of Commerce today blamed syndicates and indifference of the State government for the rise in prices of essential commodities. The traders’ body, at a meeting today, took note of the price rise in the State and decided to take pro-active steps to check it. “We have seen that some unscrupulous social elements (syndicates) have always been dictating the prices of essential commodities, which has created havoc among the general people of Assam. Now, it has become extremely important for the government agencies and as well as business organizations to take concrete steps to bring down the prices of essential commodities to give relief to the public,” a statement from the chamber said after the meeting.

The ACC has decided to submit memorandums to the Supply Department of Assam government and the DCs of each district on the matter. This will be followed by a memorandum to the Prime Minister

“Price rise is a fall-out of government negligence. The government is well aware of the phenomenon that has afflicted the common man since the last few weeks,” said Rupam Goswami, state chairman of ACC.

He said compared to other states, the prices of commodities in Assam is very high. “Unless there are syndicates, this cannot happen. A few months back, when there was hue and cry over price rise, the government arrested a few unscrupulous elements. But all that ended in a whimper. It appears that the share of the booty (of the syndicates) also reach Dispur, that is why the Food and Civil Supplies department has been a mute spectator to the problem. I refuse to believe that the syndicates can operate without the patroge of the government,” Goswami stated.

He pointed to the fact that even in Guwahati, there are different prices for the same commodity in different markets. “How can this happen?,” he questioned, lambasting the iction of the Food and Civil Supplies department.