Doon jewellers protest against PM’s call to stop gold buying

Dehradun: Jewellers in Dehradun held a candlelight march on Thursday in protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s advisory urging citizens to refrain from buying gold for at least a year.The protesters said the directive would severely impact livelihoods of traders, artisans and manufacturers dependent on the industry. “Economy of the country is important, so is the livelihood of its citizens. Not only traders and customers but lakhs of artisans will be affected. How will their families survive? As bullion traders, we make valuable contributions to the country’s GDP. Govt should try to understand our plight and adopt alternative, favourable measures,” said Gurjeet Singh, general secretary of Jewellers Association of Uttaranchal.Criticising the recent hike in gold import duty from 6% to 15%, the protesters called the move unfair and warned that restrictions on legitimate sales could encourage smuggling. They demanded a duty reduction to 5% and urged the govt to lower GST on labour charges to 1%.Jewellers claimed customers were engaging in panic buying. “So far, the PM’s remarks have not had a major impact on our business. In fact, customers are in panic buying mode. For Indians, gold is not just a transaction, it is a part of culture. With the holy month of malmas starting Sunday, this is the peak buying season,” said Sunil Masson, president of the association’s Dehradun unit.There are around 4,000 authorised jewellers in the state, of which more than 1,000 are operating in Dehradun. “Instead of boycotting purchases, we should be strengthening our exports so that the imported gold subsequently strengthens the economy. The current export policies are complex and the focus should be on fostering export growth,” said another protester.