CLOTH MERCHANTS ON 72HOUR CLOSURE
GORAKHPUR/AGRA/VARANASI:
Gorakhpur/Agra/Varanasi : Cloth merchants have called a three-day bandh from Tuesday to oppose the Goods and Services Tax( GST), to be implemented from July 1. In Gorakhpur, trader who demanded immediate roll back of GST, staged protest outside Maya cine Plex at Geeta Press cloth market ,shouting slogan against the government for its decision to include clothes under GST. Hundreds of traders will march to the DM’s office to hand over a memorandum on Wednesday ,the second day of bandh . The memorandum will be addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Governor Ram Naik and chief minister Yogi Adityanath. A delegation of traders is also planning to meet CM Yogi Adityanath to remove GST. In Varanasi too, traders, especially those who deal in Banarasi sarees, kept their shops closed. Banarasi Vastra Udyog Association general secretary Rajan Bahal said completing online process under GST will be difficult for weavers and traders. Though registration is not mandatory for the business with annual turnover of Rs 20 lakh or less, all will have to register. In case, traders don’t register, they will not be able to buy material from non-registered weavers, as they will have to give tax for non-registered traders, he said. Cloth shops in the Taj city too followed the bandh call and remained closed. A meeting has been called on Wednesday by various traders’ bodies, including footwear trade, and a discussion will be held to give a call for Agra Bandh on July 1 to oppose GST implementation. “Both retail and wholesale shops were closed today and will remain shut till Thursday,” said TN Agarwal, general secretary, UP Cloth Trade Organisation.