Twitterati fume over Hand Sanitizers being sold at Rs 999 on Flipkart
New Delhi, Mar 09: With concerns about coronavirus running high in India supplies of hand sanitizer at local stores is running out of stock.
As the people are rushing to buy hand sanitizers and other liquids to disinfect the hands, some sellers are taking advantage of the situation and selling the product at higher prices.
Twitterati observed that, a seller by the name SuperRetails on Flipkart has listed a Himalaya PureHands 30 ml bottle at Rs 999, several times above the MRP.
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A user wrote,"Hey guys... Is this fair to sell 30 ml of hand sanitizer at 999 at the need of the hour for ppl...?? I purchased 50ml of the same brand at a cost of 60 infact with 50% discount (paid 30 near by store).. ur charging 999 for 30ml..??.''
Hey guys... Is this fair to sell 30 ml of hand sanitizer at 999 at the need of the hour for ppl...?? I purchased 50ml of the same brand at a cost of 60 infact with 50% discount (paid 30 near by store).. ur charging 999 for 30ml..?? @Flipkart @flipkartsupport @WHO @walmartindia pic.twitter.com/SoA1Lz3ysL
— Chaitra (@ChaitraAni) March 7, 2020
@PMOIndia @MoHFW_INDIA @HimalayaHerbal @IncomeTaxIndia @ndtvindia @TimesNow @TOIIndiaNews @tv9kannada Sir, what is the cost of Hand Sanitizer, for just 30 ML Rs.999, cost of 1 Ltr is Rs.33300 ! Government has to control these private companies, Corono virus is good for Himalaya pic.twitter.com/eezZMQamNR
— bond gode2 (@bondgode2) March 8, 2020
Reacting over the outrage, Himalaya Drug Company clarified that it had not increased prices of its hand sanitizers and assured action against those selling above MRP.
"This is to clarify that we have not increased the rates of our PureHands Hand Sanitizers. The rates of our sanitizers have been illegally increased by unauthorised third-party sellers. We are not associated with these unscrupulous sellers in any way. These are illegal practices and must be dealt with firmly in accordance with law," Himalaya tweeted.
— Himalaya India (@HimalayaIndia) March 6, 2020
It should be noted that the Hand sanitizer isn't fully effective unless you use it properly, which many people do not. Meanwhile, several chemist shops have also ran out of N95 masks as people rushed in large numbers to get respirators.