Members of the Tamil Nadu Traders Federation and other traders' organisations staged a demonstration in the city on Thursday to register their protest against the implementation of the Food Security and Standards Act.
The federation contended that traders cannot comply with many clauses of the Act in practice.
The Act, it said, had draconian provisions providing steep penalties ranging from Rs.1 to Rs.10 lakh, and imprisonment for violations. The Act posed a major threat to the livelihood of small traders, the traders charged.
The federation said it would stage a series of agitations until the Act was either withdrawn or appropriate changes were made in its provisions.
A large number of traders and representatives of different traders associations participated in the agitation, which was led by Ve.Govindarajalu, state general secretary of the federation, near Chinthamani.
