Mandi traders have started an indefinite strike to protest the tax exemption on the purchase of food grains outside the mandi premises and against the 2% mandi duty and 0.5% cess within the mandi. Dhanipur Mandi based agents have declared that their strike will continue till the government does not withdraw this rule law.
In this regard, they also submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Director mandi addressed to the Chief Minister. Due to this strike, the work was stalled in the grain mandis across the district and the business of about 80 lakh rupees was affected. Suresh Chandra Lodhi, chairman of Galla Traders Welfare Committee, said that on one hand, the government has given exemption of mandi duty and cess on the sale of grain outside the mandi premises but within the mandi, 2% mandi duty and 0.5% cess tax has been imposed. This is causing a loss of revenue for the government itself. Farmers are not coming inside the market which results in the crisis of livelihood of hundreds of Mandi workers.
Big companies are buying floor and pulse food grains from outside. Farmers are also being exploited by this by not getting the right price of their produce. The company is paying the arbitrary price of produce to the farmers.
The galla traders will not open the mandi till the government does not take back their decision. Mukut Bihari, Dinesh Singh, Rajkumar, Dev Kumar, etc are involved in the strike.