Chhattisgarh shutdown against hiked excise duty on gold

Raipur, March 30 (IANS) A daylong shutdown Friday, called by gold traders and backed by various trade bodies, against the central government's decision of hiking excise duty on gold in this year's budget, affected normal life in Chhattisgarh.

Shops, petrol pumps, cinema halls and educational institutions were shut down in Raipur, Bilaspur and state's key industrial towns Bhilai, Korba and Raigarh.

Several trade bodies and the state's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had extended support to the shutdown and joined rallies across the state seeking an immediate roll-back of the excise duty.

Gold traders who have been on indefinite strike in the state for past 10 days to press for a rollback, have said in a statement that the daylong shutdown has affected gold business to the tune of nearly Rs.15 crore while Rs.60 crore-worth of trade was hit so far since the gold traders began their protest.