Students of NMC High School participating in a 'Bill is your right’ campaign initiated by the National Consumer Rights Commission to promote consumer awareness in Visakhapatnam. | Photo Credit: Special Arangement more-in G. Sasikala, Class VII student, is unsure whether she can insist on getting the bill whenever she heads to the nearby grocery store to pack a handful of chocolates before she goes to the school. However, she decided to demand one next time when she revisits the outlet. Thanks to the campaign ‘bill is your right’ initiated by the National Consumer Rights Commission (NCRC), like Sasikala, students in some of the schools now want to ask for the bill before stepping out of a shop. To spread consumer awareness among students, representatives of the National Consumer Rights Commission visited government educational institutions and explained some of the common grievances, consumer rights and the need to fight against poor quality of products by insisting on securing the bill for the commodities bought. So far, the NCRC team visited Zilla Parishad High School, Gopalapatnam, Vasantha Bala Vidyodaya (Aided) High School, APSWR School and Junior College for Girls- Megadrigedda and NMC High School. Target “We have a target of reaching out to 100 government schools. The idea is to help consumers fight against faulty products bought by way of hosting awareness camps and those who belong to the underprivileged sections are the worst affected because of the lack of awareness,” said R. Sai Ramesh, national chairman of NCRC. He asked the consumers to check the shelf life of the products purchased in any retail outlet as many stores continue to sell branded commodities even after they exceed expiry period. “Being a conscious buyer always helps in identifying such defects and asking for the receipt aids in fighting against poor quality standards of packaged commodities,” Mr. Sai Ramesh said. What makes the session an interesting one is the way students drive home the message of consumer awareness. “After the session, a ‘bill box’ will be placed on the campus and students can get a copy of bills from home and drop it in the box, mentioning their name, class and roll no. This will ensure that their parents will demand the invoice while procuring the commodities,” said M. Vyas Goud, Divisional Vice-Chairperson of NCRC. Those who drop more number of bill copies in the box will walk away with goodies and a certificate.

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