New Delhi, March 8: As people are rushing to buy hand sanitizers to prevent coronavirus infection, some sellers are taking advantage of the situation and selling the product at higher prices. Netizens observed that, on Flipkart, a seller by the name SuperRetails has listed a Himalaya PureHands 30 ml bottle at Rs 999, several times above the MRP. On Twitter, people complained about the seller for charging more than the maximum retail price (MRP). Coronavirus: Sale of N95 Masks Without Doctor Prescriptions Banned in Maharashtra to Prevent Price Rise And Hoarding of Respirators.

"Dear Sir, Flipkart is selling Himalaya Hand Sanitizer at Rs 999/- (30)ml, whereas its original MRP price is around Rs 150/- The seller is SuperRetail. Kindly take immediate action," a Twitter user wrote. "Companies are actually working hard to help people by selling a 30 ml Hand Sanitizer for only ₹999 and mind that that’s with a discount of ₹1. Please do something @Flipkart for those who are selling products over the MRP price. @flipkartsupport #CaronavirusIndia," another posted. Coronavirus Live Map: How to Track The Spread of COVID-19 Across The Globe With This Dashboard.

Following 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.

Reacting to Whopping Increase in Hand Sanitizer Rates Amid Coronavirus Threat:

When a news portal approached Flipkart, its help centre said: "You could see different prices for the same product, as it could be listed by many sellers." Several chemist shops ran out of N95 masks as people rushed in large numbers to get respirators. To prevent hoarding and sale at higher prices, the Maharashtra government has banned the sale of N95 masks without doctors' prescription.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 08, 2020 07:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).