There are a number of very well meaning laws in India for the assistance of the common consumer. But their implementation leaves a lot to be desired with the result that their benefit does not percolate down to the consumer, as they should. The remedy is to raise the awareness levels of consumers about consumer rights and issues of consumer safety so that they can initiate prior informed action to safeguard themselves. And the right way is to start young.

In order to build awareness among young minds on these issues, Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS), the premier research and advocacy organisation for consumer empowerment, organised a programme for school students on December 18, 2004, between 11am and 1.30pm, at the Don Bosco School, Park Circus, auditorium.

Inaugurating the programme, Fr T V Jacob, Principal, Don Bosco School, lauded the initiative and spoke from personal experience and in general on the advantages of acquiring a good knowledge on these issues. After his speech, a small memento was presented to him by CUTS as a token of appreciation.

On behalf of the Consumer Affairs Department, Government of West Bengal, Ashok Bhattacharya, Controller of Legal Metrology, gave a thorough presentation on the different aspects of consumer rights. He spoke briefly on the history of the consumer movement beginning with its genesis in the USA during the Kennedy years, the UN pronouncements on the subject and our own Consumer Protection Act, 1986. In a power point presentation, he enunciated in detail each of the consumer rights on basic needs, right to safety, right to choose, right to information, right to consumer education, right to redressal, right to representation and right to a healthy environment.

A presentation by Mita Dutta, Centre Coordinator at CUTS’ Kolkata office followed, explaining various aspects of consumer safety. She explained the concept of consumer safety and dwelt on the consumers’ rights to safe products and safe services pointing out the cracks and crannies where unsafe goods or services may occur. On road safety, Dutta informed her young audience on good practices especially those related to seat belts, wearing of Bureau of Indian Standards approved helmets when riding two-wheelers and the perils of talking on cell phones while driving   She particularly dwelt on the duty towards road accident victims. She rebutted the commonly held but erroneous perception of police harassment for bystanders and doctors and underscored the points of law from the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and the clear directions by the Supreme Court about the primacy of saving the precious life of the victim and the indemnity of helpers and doctors from unnecessary police harassment. In her speech she also spoke about the duty of the medical profession not to deny medical assistance in such emergencies. Her talk also included food safety from a consumer’s standpoint and spiced her talk with the example of chocolates - both indigenous and foreign – a food item certainly close to the hearts of the young audience. She emphasised on the dangers of dubious foreign brands and advised to check, among other things, the ‘best before’ date (which is mandatory for any food item as per Indian laws) of chocolates, before buying.

Each of the presentations were marked by very lively floor discussions where the students took active part, raising several pertinent questions, giving lie to the generally held perception that today’s youth are apathetic towards such issues

The second session of the programme was devoted to a debate among the students on the topic “In Today’s World of Advertisements, We are More Confused than Informed” Two students from each of the following schools, one speaking for the motion and one against, participated in the debate:

The debate was very intense, compelling spontaneous applause time and again from the very receptive audience. Prizes were announced for the two best speakers, both for and against. The first prizes went to Ritayan Bhattacharya (Frank Anthony School) and Swatilekha Kar (Ballygunge Siksha Sadan), while the second prizes were awarded to Nikunj Kataruka (Birla Boys’ High School) and Somak Ghosh (Don Bosco School, Park Circus). The other participants in the debate were presented with mementos.

Jayanta Basu, eminent journalist from The Telegraph, Rajat Chaudhuri, environmentalist and consumer activist and Mita Dutta Centre Coordinator of CUTS Kolkata, were the judges

Eight schools from Kolkata participated in the programme. CUTS are to hold such programmes in future in the districts as well.