Shops and other commercial establishments across the city downed their shutters on Wednesday in response to a shutdown call by the Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samiti raising various demands, including a solution to the issues around the Goods and Services Tax (GST) structure.
With the Hotel and Restaurant Association too supporting the strike, most of the restaurants and even tea shops in the city remained closed. Only medical shops were open in most places.
Samithi president T. Naseeruddin inaugurated the protest march to the Secretariat, in which shopkeepers from across the State participated. According to shopkeepers, the implementation of GST without adequate preparations has caused a negative impact to their business. The government has to take steps to control the price increase that has resulted from the GST implementation.
Rehabilitation package
Another demand raised by the shopkeepers was that the government should announce a rehabilitation package for shopkeepers who have to give up their land and also stand to lose their livelihood, for National Highway expansion projects. They also demanded that the government iron out discrepancies in labour laws.
Traffic came to a standstill along the main road in the morning as the protesters took up both sides of the road in front of the Secretariat. The haphazard parking of the buses and vans from across the State also caused traffic blocks at various places. The separate marches to the Secretariat by the protesters, who got down at different places, also gave the police personnel a headache.
The two factions of the Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samiti had observed the shutdown over different time durations. While one faction downed the shutters for 24 hours, the members of the other faction opened their shops after 11 hours. Some of the hotels near the main protest venue remained open, for the sake of the protesters.
