New Delhi, Oct 15 (IANS) As the Congress-led INDIA bloc protests disrupt local businesses in the national capital and have ripple effect on others across the country, threatening to affect sales particularly ahead of the festive season, a host of trade associations and bodies from various states, including Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Delhi, have made an impassioned appeal to the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and also sought intervention from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, to help mitigate their mounting losses by taking relevant safeguards.
While most of trade bodies urged Rahul Gandhi to reconsider road blockades and streets agitations for political purposes, the Bangalore Wholesale Cloth Merchants Association President Prakash Pirgal also approached the Supreme Court and wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) seeking 'legal protection' against the disruptive protests by the opposition parties.
Prakash Pirgal, the head of Bangalore Wholesale Cloth Merchants Association, spoke to IANS sharing the reasons behind seeking judicial safeguard to street protests while explaining its adverse fallout on small as well as big traders.
"The ongoing protests in Delhi have affected our business in Bengaluru as well. We are based in Bengaluru, but we send our textiles to Delhi. Traders in Delhi are telling us -- "Please do not send any more fabric for now". The reason they give is that protests are taking place in Delhi and the situation resembles a citywide shutdown," he said.
Raising apprehensions about the 'gloomy times' ahead of the festive season, Pirgal noted that many traders like him are uncertain and unsure whether the businesses will continue normally during the upcoming Dussehra and Diwali festival.
"Our orders have been put on hold. If my business has been affected in this way, thousands of other traders are also likely to face similar difficulties," he said.
Shedding light on his letter to the CJI, Bengalaru trade body chief said, "We have simply pointed out that the festive season. Whenever roads are blocked in any city due to protests, businesses are severely affected. Small traders face significant difficulties, and in many cases, they are forced to shut down their shops because of the roadblocks."
He also added that political parties are free to express their dissent and corner the Union government and advised them to raise and resolve the issues at the appropriate forum rather than hitting the streets, as this takes a toll on the small businesses and traders.
Further, sharing the daily hassles of trading and business community in the heart of Bengaluru, Pirgal demanded that a designated place for demonstrations should be set up so that businesses could operate without administration's curbs and restrictions.
"Bengaluru has Freedom Park, which is designated for protests. When protests of such nature take place in central Bengaluru and roads are blocked, everyone suffers. Our request is that such protests should be held outside the city centre. People can organise demonstrations at designated venues," he suggested.
--IANS
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