The officials of the Legal Metrology Department on Monday booked seven cases against four eateries in the PVP Square Mall for violations including the sale of food at higher prices, misrepresentation of quantity and usage of uncertified weighing scales.
The officials of the Department accompanied Consumer Affairs, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Prathipati Pulla Rao in his a surprise visit to the mall.
Mr. Pulla Rao interacted with people at the food court and enquired about the prices. He bought a six-piece chicken bucket at the KFC Restaurant, popcorn, sweet corn and soft drinks at the Cinepolis cafeteria, and dosa and other food items at other eateries. He also inspected the Dominos Pizza, Nutrifresh, Lunch Box and others.
Mr. Rao said: “In the guise of ‘select channel’, multinational eatery brands are charging consumers exorbitantly at cinemas, petrol bunks and such practice will be viewed seriously. It is found that there is huge variance in the MRPs in the malls and other eateries in the city. We have already raided a multiplex and issued notices. The government will take action against other enterprises found violating rules,” he said. Kinley and Aquafina bottled water, popcorn and KFC chicken were being sold at higher prices, he said. He called on people to question the management if they find any mismatch in the prices.
Cinepolis, KFC, two others booked
N. Nageswara Rao, Assistant Commissioner, Legal Metrology, told The Hindu that the Cafeteria in Cinepolis multiplex was found using uncertified electronic weighing scales and selling food with misrepresented quantity. “Four cases were booked against the stalls in the Cinepolis cafeteria and one against the KFC which was found selling less quantity chicken than they should. Two other stalls in the food court were also booked,” he said.
A couple of days ago, the officials raided the INOX multiplex in Gandhi Nagar and found similar irregularities.
