Maharashtra to witness total trade shutdown on Oct 10
Maharashtra will see one of the largest voluntary shutdowns of trade on October 10 when retail traders, wholesalers, hawkers and mathadi workers across the state will protest the entry of large foreign multinationals and Indian corporates into the...
By PTI |
MUMBAI: Maharashtra will see one of the largest voluntary shutdowns of trade on October 10 when retail traders, wholesalers, hawkers and mathadi workers across the state will protest the entry of large foreign multinationals and Indian corporates into the retail sector.
The protest from retailers in the state is coming on the back of similar protests staged by retailers in Kerala, Orissa and UP. Incidentally, Reliance Retail, one of the largest retailers in the country has taken a position to close its operations in UP and Orissa.
Speaking at a press conference, President of Federation of Associations of Maharashtra (FAM) Mohan Gurnani said over two lakh retailers, wholesalers and hawkers will participate in a rally in Mumbai on October 10 at 10 am.
A joint action committee formed under the leadership of FAM, representing 750 trade associations will be spearheading the agitation in the state, he said.
As per estimates of FAM, India has the largest density of retailers in the world with over 1.5 crore retail outlets spread across the country. Whereas in England, only 10 retail chains control 60 per cent of the entire retail market.
According to Gurnani, the government has not learnt lessons from other countries affected by corporate retail.
He said in Thailand, multinational retail chains that entered in 1997 have captured over 10 per cent of the market share impacting 60,000 small retailers. The Thai government had to step in and create a fund to give assistance to them and has imposed zoning restrictions for mega retail shops.
In China, foreign direct investment in retail is highly regulated and many of the stores are allowed to stock only China-made goods, he said.
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