Coimbatore: The day-long protest was observed despite the Finance Ministry scrapping import duty on cotton till September 30 to bring down its prices. Commercial areas wore a deserted look as shops downed shutters at Eswaran Kovil Street, NMS compound and Thiruvengadam Street.
The shutdown has resulted in a business loss of Rs 50 crore. Voicing concern over steep increase in prices, K Kalaiselvan, president of Erode Cloth Merchants Association said that the cost of one candy of cotton has more than doubled from Rs 43,000 to Rs 1 lakh in the last two years.
“Such abnormal increase in price have resulted in steep hikes in the price of end products. Textile manufacturers face heavy loss due to constant increase in prices. Price fixation should be done once in a month and cotton should be brought under essential commodity,” he said.
Welcoming the initiative taken by the Centre to scrap import duty on cotton, the textile traders also urged the government to initiate further steps to overcome shortage and act on hoarding. The closure of shops led to job loss for thousands of daily wagers dependent on the industry for their livelihood. Some of the allied sector involved in bleaching, dyeing, printing and power loom units also pledged their support for the protest.
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