Wholesale foodgrain markets to stay indefinitely closed from today in Jharkhand

RANCHI: Wholesale business of foodgrain, vegetables and livestock will remain stalled indefinitely in Jharkhand from Wednesday as the traders announced a long drawn protest to demand a rollback of a new tax structure on farmers.
The indefinite strike, which will begin from Wednesday morning, is expected to trigger a shortage of grains and vegetables in the retail markets of Ranchi and across the district in the coming days.
The Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI), the apex trade and commerce body of Jharkhand, on Tuesday declared the indefinite strike and said it would continue unless the Hemant Soren government withdraws the Jharkhand State Agriculture Produce and Livestock Marketing Bill of 2022.
The bill, passed by the state assembly during the last winter session, was approved by governor Ramesh Bais earlier this month.
The FJCCI said the decision was made in consultation with more than a thousand traders across Jharkhand and the representatives of all the 24 district market committees of the state.
"We had given this government a week's time to withdraw the bill. We met all the MLAs and even the agriculture minister (Badal Patralekh) and voiced our concerns. Our representatives also met the deputy commissioners in all the districts and urged rollback of the tax. But the government did not pay heed to our concerns so far. Now, we have no other choice left," Kishore Mantri, FJCCI president, said.
The FJCCI has claimed that the bill proposes a 2% tax on the total value of the produce or grains which is being sold by a farmer to the market committees.
"The taxation will hit the rice mill industry of Jharkhand and also discourage the farmers from selling their yeild to the market committees of the state and encourage them to go to other states," Manoj Naredi, a trader and a former FJCCI president, claimed.
FJCCI also took potshots at the Congress. "While Rahul Gandhi is criticising the Centre on inflation and price rise, his party is imposing a tax which will kill the food processing sector of the state and cause a rise in food grains," Mantri added.
State agriculture department remained silent on the issue. Patralekh and department secretary Aboobacker Siddiqui did not respond to TOI's calls and messages.
"The minister has invited FJCCI office bearers for an emergency discussion on the issue later in the evening but nothing fruitful transpired," a source in Patralekh's office told TOI.