The cloth merchants and textile traders have decided to stage protest yet another time by calling for an indefinite strike condemning the five per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) that the government has imposed on clothes. 

The traders are reportedly going to close all clothing showrooms across the state from April 30th onwards.  Notably, the State Federation of Textile Industry has warned the state government that they would even call for something like a crop holiday and stop sales and purchase. 

It may be noted that several traders across the country have already been calling for strikes against the decision of imposing five per cent VAT.  The traders further warned the government that they would down the shutters as long as government doesn’t look into this issue.

It may be noted that the recent budget by the union has triggered several strikes in the country. While jewellery merchants recently called for a country-wide strike against the budget, the textile merchants followed their footsteps and are all set to down the shutters. 

Experts of the opinion that the youths in cities like Hyderabad will cry foul if something like this happens as purchasing new threads was once a one-time job and now it has become a daily affair to almost everyone. 

Now what would be the situation of malls where one gets everything under one roof (including clothes) is really a big question as these stores have nothing to deal with strikes and bandhs.(Phani)