Unorganised jewellers continue strike in fear of 'inspector raj'

NEW DELHI: Despite top trade bodies like GJF, IBJA and Gjepc having asked their member jewellers to end the 19-day strike after a "fruitful" meeting with finance minister Arun Jaitley on March 19, most jewellers in north and some parts of west India continue to remain shut, while those in south were open.

Organised retailers like Gitanjali, Waman Hari Pethe Sons, PC Jeweller, etc, remained open while majority of those in the unorganised segment were closed for fear that the excise introduction would open the doors to "inspector raj".

The strike continued despite government officials having clarified that no seizure of goods and visits to shops by excise officials would take place and that they would not challenge the valuation given on the invoice, provided purity and caratage were mentioned on the bill.

"I feel business should not remain shut and trade should not lose," said Aditya Pethe, director of Waman Hari Pethe Sons. However, other organised retailers said that in parts of certain states where the strike was called off, they had to perforce remain shut.

"Calls to lift the strike by leading associations have had a mixed response, with jewellers in the north continuing to remain shut," said Mehul Choksi, chairman, Gitanjali group.