About 3,100 businessmen lose at least Rs80 crore turnover.
Thousands of retail shops in Bangalore were shut on Thursday in protest against the Centre’s decision to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail segment.
The Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) at Yeshwantpur and Taragupet, KR Market and Russel Market remained closed. At least 3,100 businessmen lost about Rs80 crore turnover while the APMC was deprived of Rs10 lakh as market fee.
The strike was supported by vegetable vendors too. “We’re happy to get the support of hundreds of vegetable vendors at KR Market. The bandh is complete and successful,’’ said Ramesh Chandra Lahoti, spokesman of the Bangalore Traders’ Action Committee.
According to Lahoti, traders at 144 APMCs across the state joined the bandh. He said retail business was a self-employment venture by literate and semi-literate investors whose investment varied from Rs50,000 to Rs5 lakh. “Retail business has been going on without government’s support for centuries. Hence, it will be unfair to ask these small retailers to compete with multi-national companies who are investing up to $400 billion,” he said. “We demand immediate withdrawal of government’s approval for the FDI in the retail segment,’’ he said.
K Shiva Shanmugam, president, Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said members of FKCCI had stressed the need to stop FDI in the retail segment for the sake of lakhs of retailers in the country.
“We hope the state government will take all measures to prevent FDI in the retail segment. MNCs like Wal-Mart have the potential to ruin the future of retail business. Lakhs of people will become unemployed if the government allows FDI in the retail segment,’’ he said.
The industry had high hopes on ‘MMCs’ (Manmohan Singh, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chidambaram) and it never expected them to allow MNCs in retail business.
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