By Ifham Nizam
The Department of Weights and Measures has launched a prorgamme to prevent the use of substandard weighing machines. The Agriculture, Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation Ministry said that racketeers cheated farmers and consumbers by using substandard scales that could be rigged.
A senior official said that as the farmers alleged that urea issued by an Agrarian Service Centre, in the Bulathsinghala area, was shortweighted, and the police had intervened to weigh the bags of urea and found that they did not contain specified amounts of fertilizer.
Minister Amaraweera of Agriculture said that the weighing machines used by most traders were riged.
Minister Amaraweera instructed the Secretary to the Ministry, Gunadasa Samarasinghe, to work with the Weights and Measures Department to prevent the use of substandard scales.
The Minister would submit a proposal to the Cabinet to prepare a work order to stop the smuggling of scales that could be easily tampered with to exploit farmers as well as consumers across the country.