Bandh By 150 Clothes Shops

Protesting the proposed 10% excise duty on readymade garments in the Union Budget 2011-12, manufacturers of hosiery and readymade garments industries observed a day's token bandh in the old city.

A P Hosiery Association President Mirza Yousuf said that more than 150 'readymade garments' shops in the old city remained closed because of the bandh call given by the Association.

Mirza recalled that when former Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha had moved a similar proposal during the NDA rule, Congress President Sonia Gandhi had requested the then government to withdraw the proposal to levy excise duty on readymade garments.

He stated that while the first term of the UPA regime had not taxed the garment manufacturers, the second terms is proposing to levy a 10% excise duty, and this had shaken hosiery manufacturers, prompting them to give a bandh call in order to press the Centre to roll back the proposal.

"When NDA was in power, Sonia Gandhi had requested then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha not to levy an excise duty on readymade and branded garments. But the proposal in the 2011-12 budget presented by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has upset us the most. Therefore the AP Hosiery Association gave a bandh call for March 7th on March 4th, and appealed to us to make it a success. This is the reason why the garments shops remained shut today," informed Mirza Yousuf.

In addition to this, Mirza said that measures to boost cotton farming in the country have been ignored. He also demanded that the government ban export of cotton.

Courtesy: INN