Food merchants across Madhya Pradesh have been showing complete support to a call for three-day statewide bandh that began on Monday. They are opposing certain provision of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA).
Most of the stores in Bhopal – save a few shops that cater to the daily needs of the residents of the city – downed their shutters, as did the food markets in Indore; Ratlam; Jabalpur; Gwalior; Ujjain; Sagar; Rewa, etc.
Babulal Rathi, president, Ratlam Vyapari Mahasangh, said, “The Act favours multinationals who wish to set up shop in the state and could wipe out small traders.”
“We believe the infrastructure is inadequate and the law is too difficult for the average trader to comprehend, let alone follow. We're seeking remedial action on these, because whenever I read the Act, I see a new loophole emerging,” he said.
“So far, the bandh has been peaceful, but if the government does not pay heed to our demands, it could become indefinite and cripple the state,” Rathi said, adding, “Our meeting with the collector of Ratlam was fruitful.”
He said media reports on the bandh boosted the traders' confidence; but the same cannot be said about the local food safety officers' excuses. “They visit vendors of namkeen, which Ratlam is noted for, and penalise them on the grounds that it is adulterated,” he said.
Concern for small traders
Rathi has found a supporter in none other than Shivraj Singh Chouhan, chief minister, Madhya Pradesh, who believes that the FSSA will be detrimental to small-time traders and commoners, and that international players will benefit.
Chouhan urged Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to reconsider the Act within a stalled time frame, and that until the Centre deliberated on the issue, none of its provision would be implemented.
The chief minister observed that the ones who run roadside stalls and sell food on handcarts could feel the pinch more than others, and hoped the Centre would keep the arrangements for making safe food available to everybody under the Act within the framework of practicability.
Most of the stores in Bhopal – save a few shops that cater to the daily needs of the residents of the city – downed their shutters, as did the food markets in Indore; Ratlam; Jabalpur; Gwalior; Ujjain; Sagar; Rewa, etc.
Babulal Rathi, president, Ratlam Vyapari Mahasangh, said, “The Act favours multinationals who wish to set up shop in the state and could wipe out small traders.”
“We believe the infrastructure is inadequate and the law is too difficult for the average trader to comprehend, let alone follow. We're seeking remedial action on these, because whenever I read the Act, I see a new loophole emerging,” he said.
“So far, the bandh has been peaceful, but if the government does not pay heed to our demands, it could become indefinite and cripple the state,” Rathi said, adding, “Our meeting with the collector of Ratlam was fruitful.”
He said media reports on the bandh boosted the traders' confidence; but the same cannot be said about the local food safety officers' excuses. “They visit vendors of namkeen, which Ratlam is noted for, and penalise them on the grounds that it is adulterated,” he said.
Concern for small traders
Rathi has found a supporter in none other than Shivraj Singh Chouhan, chief minister, Madhya Pradesh, who believes that the FSSA will be detrimental to small-time traders and commoners, and that international players will benefit.
Chouhan urged Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to reconsider the Act within a stalled time frame, and that until the Centre deliberated on the issue, none of its provision would be implemented.
The chief minister observed that the ones who run roadside stalls and sell food on handcarts could feel the pinch more than others, and hoped the Centre would keep the arrangements for making safe food available to everybody under the Act within the framework of practicability.
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