Residents of the twin townships duped or deprived of service or products they have paid for will no longer have to trudge all the way to Barasat. For all these years, it was only the headquarters of North 24-Parganas that had a consumer court to cater to complaints from the entire district. But now a separate court to cater to residents of the Bidhannagar Commissionerate area is coming up near City Centre 2.
“People of Salt Lake, Lake Town and Rajarhat had to travel a long distance to seek redress. I have got the proposal passed in the Cabinet. A gazette notification will soon be issued to specify the jurisdiction of the new court,” minister of
consumer affairs Sadhan Pandey told The Telegraph Salt Lake.
A six-storeyed building is being constructed by the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners to house the court in New Town.
The Barasat court was set up in 1996. “Since then up till June 30, 10,286 cases have been filed there of which 8,283 have been disposed of,” said an official of the department.
“Construction should be over before the Pujas. We hope to start operation soon after,” the minister said.
Subir Chatterjee, general secretary of Consumer Association, Bidhannagar, which sits in EC Market on Wednesday evenings, welcomed the move. “Salt Lake and Rajarhat comprise a big area with a lot of complaints. Most complainants are senior citizens for whom travelling to Barasat is a challenge,” he said.
