The traders’ bandh in protest against Walmart’s acquisition of home-grown retail major Flipkart and FDI in retail sector on Friday evoked a contrasting response in Ranchi and Jamshedpur.
While all shops were open in the state capital, almost the entire steel city wore a barren look for most part of the day as over 1,000 shops in the three major commercial hubs — Bistupur, Sakchi and Jugsalai — remained closed.
The bandh, called by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), also saw several petrol pumps and private banks keeping their shutters down.
Members of Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) led by Suresh Sonthalia, who was recently appointed as the national secretary of CAIT, went around in all the commercial hubs to enforce the bandh.
“Traders voluntarily closed their shops to support the cause. On our request, some private banks also downed shutters in Bistupur,” said Sonthalia.
During the bandh hours from 6am to 3pm, all textile and readymade garment shops, electronics and FMCG outlets remained closed. The wholesale market in Jugsalai was shut. Not a single shop opened at the Parsudih-based Krishi Utpad Bazaar Samiti (KUBS). All jewellery stores in Bistupur, including all the big brands, kept their shutters down. Most of the jewellers in Sakchi also did not open their shops.
CAIT is opposing US retail giant Walmart’s proposed acquisition of 77 per cent stake in Bengaluru-based Flipkart. Last month, the apex body had also filed a petition in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) against the Competition Commission of India’s decision to approve the deal.
“Business to the tune of several crores of rupees was affected in the city. Customers also supported the cause of small traders,” said Bharat Vasani, vice-president of SCCI.
Later in the afternoon, a delegation of traders led by Sonthalia went to the office of deputy commissioner Amit Kumar to hand over a memorandum highlighting the plight of traders due to FDI in the retail sector. The memorandum was addressed to the Prime Minister.
Since Kumar was not there at his office, the memorandum was received by ADM (law and order) Subodh Kumar. He assured the traders that the letter, which also had a list of all the outfits that participated in the bandh, would be sent to the Prime Minister’s Office.
In Ranchi, members of Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI) staged a dharna for an hour at Jakir Hussain Park near Raj Bhavan to protest against the acquisition of Flipkart by Walmart.
They later submitted two memoranda — one addressed to governor Droupadi Murmu through her secretary and the other to the deputy commissioner.
“Walmart’s acquisition of Flipkart is an indication of cent per cent FDI entry that will jeopardise livelihood of 11 crore retailers in the country,” said FJCCI president Deepak Maroo, adding they wanted the government to discuss the matter with the retailers’ representatives.
“Traders organised such dharnas in all the district headquarters and submitted memoranda to respective deputy commissioners,” he informed.
