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World Consumer Rights Day commemorated

By Zahid Hameed

ISLAMABAD: The World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) was observed on Wednesday in the country to highlight the significance of consumer rights and their protection.

The Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP) and the Network for Consumer Protection (NCP) had organised a number of activities including seminars and a book launching ceremony.

The CRCP held a seminar on the issue of energy resources and their sustainable access to consumers. Various speakers highlighted the significance of the day and problems being faced by consumers in Pakistan.

Mazhar Siraj, a CRCP research fellow, said that energy resources were of fundamental importance to public welfare but majority of people did not have access to energy sources. “More than 50,000 villages are without electricity,” he said. He said per capita energy consumption in Pakistan was only 14 British thermal units (mBtu) as compared to 92 (mBtu) in Malaysia and 34 (mBtu) in China.

Aftab Alam of CRCP blamed the government and multinational companies for interfering with energy regulatory authorities such as the (NEPRA) and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA).

Azam Ali Khan of Pakistan Council of Renewable Energy Technologies (PCRET) said that solar, biogas and other renewable energy sources should be used to generate energy. He said that these energy sources could be utilised in Balochistan, Swat and other areas of the country.

Information and Technology State Minister Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said that the government was aware of the growing energy needs of the country and was working to provide cheap and environment friendly energy resources to consumers. She said the government was committed to building five big water reservoirs before 2016.

The NCP organised another seminar titled “State of Consumer Policy and Legislation in Pakistan” on Wednesday. Speaking on the occasion, NCP Executive Coordinator Ayyaz Kiani said that various laws existed in the country to protect the rights of consumers, but they were not fully implemented. Hafiz Azizur Rehman of NCP, Justice (r) Nasira Javed Iqbal, Zafar Iqbal Kalanauri and Nasir Maqsood also spoke on the occasion.

NCP also launched a book on the occasion that narrated the story of Riaz Bibi who died due to the negligence of a doctor during a caesarian operation at Rawalpindi Cantonment Hospital and the subsequent legal struggle of her husband to get compensation.

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