BY PUSHKAR BHANDARI,Dadeldhura, Aug. 6: Black-marketing is thriving right in front of the District Administration Office in Khalanga. The shops in front of the District Administration Office, Dadeldhura, which regulates and controls the entire district, and the District Police Office in Khalanga of Amargadhi Municipaity-4 have been selling postal stamps worth Rs. 10 for Rs. 15.
According to the commercial policy of the Government of Nepal, no more than 10 per cent profit can be taken on any item. If more than 15 per cent profit is taken, including the 10 per cent profit and the cost of availability and service charges, action will be taken. However, it has been found that shopkeepers in front of the District Administration and Police Office have been making up to 50 per cent profit on one postal stamp.
The District Postal Office is only about one kilometre away from the District Administration Office. The District Postal Office is located near the bus park in Bagbazaar in Ward No. 5. The shopkeepers in front of the administration office buy stamps from the postal office and sell them at their shops forcing service users to spend up to Rs. 30 for Rs. 10 stamps.
According to a local Gyanendra Joshi, these shops only sell stamps worth Rs. 10. Therefore, when service users need to get a Rs. 13 postal stamp, they need to buy two Rs. 10 stamps, which will cost them Rs. 30 in total due to black marketing. He said, “I lost my citizenship. I needed a Rs. 13 postal stamp to stick on my application for duplicate citizenship. I searched for stamps in the shops, but I couldn’t get any at the real price and had to pay Rs. 30 for two postal stamps priced at Rs. 10 each.”
According to the annual progress report of the District Administration Office, Dadeldhura, 3,921 people made citizenship in the last fiscal year 2023/24. Similarly, in the same year, 2,592 people obtained duplicate citizenship certificates. The number of people who went to the postal office to buy stamps is almost zero.
Chandra Rokaya, a non-gazetted first-class officer at the District Administration Office, said that local shopkeepers ignored the office’s warnings. After receiving such complaints, the Chief District Officer himself warned the shopkeepers in front of the office. However, the shopkeepers ignored the Chief District Officer’s warning, he added.
He said that the shopkeepers complained that the District Postal Office did not give discounts or commissions to them for selling stamps. Due to the hassle of handling loose change, they charged amounts that were easier to deal with.
The Rising Nepal
