Of the two teams deployed, the one at the railway station found branded items, including mineral water and soft drinks, sold at genuine rates; the one at the ST bus stand found rates at the main canteen, the Uphar Restaurant, were found to be much more higher than the printed MRPs.

District Collector Anil Mukim and DSO Ashok Singh said that the raids were conducted following complaints in this regard; they would become a regular affair, they added. ``The raids seemed a must as the complaints were multifaceted; the quality was reported to be poor and the difference in prices abnormal, often more than two rupees'', said Singh.

Mukim highlighted the existence of several provisions within the Gujarat Caterers and Establishment Act, 1975 as well as section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and held that ``law must prevail''.

On Monday evening, teams deployed by the DSO had carried out simultaneous raids on snacks stalls in six cinema halls across the city and seized branded edible items worth more than Rs 25,000 that were allegedly being sold at rates much higher than the MRP. The stalls raided were at Alpana Talkies, Apsara, Vihar, Pratap, Sadhna and Aradhana talkies on Monday evening.

Meanwhile, officials of the Legal Meteorology department also raided several stalls at the Vadodara Railway Station and fined the stall managers for flouting rules pertaining to weights and measures. An official release said that fines worth Rs 3,900 were slapped on them.

The release added that a number of snack shops all over the city as well as main roads along the district borders were also being inspected and inquiries and other actions were being contemplated.

Even the latest raid, which continued till late night on Monday again met with a defensive reaction from the affected. Karunakaran Shetty, hotelier and caterer and owner of Sadhna talkies restaurant, which was raided yesterday, however, said the administration ought to appreciatetheir problems too.

``We have to charge slightly more than the market prices, keeping various risk factors in mind. More than 100 bottles are broken inside the cinema every month and then, there are occasions when a film does not attract much crowds and yet we have to maintain the restaurant and the employees'', he said. B B Rawal, the bus stand canteen manager, however told Express Newsline he was unaware that he had been flouting the MRP laws and added that he would now act according to the law.