Day-long strike costs jewellers Rs 50 crore

Standing committee promises relook at octroi hike; stir deferred till Jun 30

It was a lacklustre day in the city as more than 3,000 jewellers from across the district shut shop to protest against the high octroi rates imposed by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on gold and silver. The jewellers incurred a loss of Rs 50 crore in the process, considering the ongoing wedding season.u00a0The Pune Saraf Association had called an indefinite bandh demanding that the PMC rolls back the octroi charge on gold that was increased from 0.35 per cent to 3 per cent from April 1, making gold costly by almost Rs 700 per 10 gm.


Voicing their woes: Jewellers from the district take out a morcha from
Laxmi Road to PMC headquarters to protest against high octroi rates
levied by the civic body. pic/jignesh Mistry

The octroi on silver has gone up from 0.35 per cent to 1 per cent, making silver dearer by Rs 600 per kg. The jewellers who took out a morcha to the PMC headquarters attempted to meet the municipal commissioner Mahesh Pathak. Shops not only in the city but also in Bhor, Manchar, Nagar, Chakan and adjoining areas were closed. Kishore Dankale, a city jeweller, said: "We will continue the strike, if the policy makers do not reconsider the octroi rate. Increasing the octroi by 860 per cent is not fair."

The jewellers said the higher rates of gold and silver had ebbed sale of jewellery. Later in the day, the jewellers decided to defer the strike till June 30 after Mayor Mohan Singh Rajpal, leader of the house Subhash Jagtap and standing committee chairman Ganesh Bidkar met them."Bidkar assured us that they would review the octroi rates. They have asked us for some time and we have, therefore, deferred the strike until June 30," saidu00a0 Fatehchand Ranka, president of the Pune Saraf Association.