Big retail is now in trouble in Mumbai, one of the country?s largest retail markets. Organising a massive demonstration of retailers and wholesalers at Azad Maidan on Wednesday, the Vyapar Rozgar Suraksha Kruti Samiti?an umbrella organisation of agitators?threatened a major struggle until the state government stepped in to prevent the entry of large format stores, domestic or foreign.
Mohan Gurnani, convenor of the Samiti, told FE, ?Following today?s protests against the entry of big retailers like Reliance Retail and Wal-Mart, we are planning a complete bandh in Mumbai on January 10, 2008. If the state government is still unable to come up with a solution, we will resort to a major andolan (struggle) from January 26. Five crore retailers will participate in this struggle.?
On Wednesday, 50,000 retailers and wholesalers from Mumbai and Navi Mumbai demonstrated for several hours. Gurnani, who is also a director of Mumbai Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), said, ?The retail industry will lose Rs 50-60 crore today on account of the bandh.?
The Vashi (Navi Mumbai)-based Grain, Rice & Oilseeds Merchants? Association (Groma), which sells around 3,200 metric tonne of foodgrains daily, suffered a loss of Rs 20 crore on Wednesday, added Sharad Maru, the association’s president.
Traders at Pune’s APMC, wholesale business and small retailers also downed shutters on Wednesday, joining the statewide protest. Other APMCs across Western Maharashtra also remained closed.
There are 500 grocery wholesalers and 725 in the fruit & vegetable business in the Pune APMC and around 40,000 dealers, merchants, suppliers, and middlemen linked to their business.
The agitating organisations included Groma, the Federation of Associations of Maharashtra (FAM), Maharashtra Rajya Mathadi, Transport & General Kamgar Union, India FDI Watch, Centre for Indian Trade Unions (Citu), Retail & Dispensing Chemists? Association, Apna Bazar, Mumbai Vyapari Mahasangh (Maharashtra), All-India Baroda Bank Employees? Association and National Hawkers? Federation. Rajesh Shah, senior VP of FAM, admitted that they were late in registering their protest. ?We took time in gathering all the associated organisations in the state. But now we are all together,? Shah said.
Reliance Retail officials could not be reached for comment. Shubranshu Pani, president?retail at real estate consultancy JLM, said the state government is still in the process of evaluating the impact of big retail on small traders.
In a memorandum presented to state chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, the Samiti strongly opposed FDI in retail as it ?will affect the existence of retail trade?.
The organisations also stressed the need for immediate implementation of the National Policy on Hawkers and demanded that the model Act be repealed as it is discriminatory and against equity and justice.