Jewellers block rail track near Shivala crossing

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, March 28

Jewellers protesting against the imposition of one per cent central excise duty on sale and purchase of gold intensified their protest by blocking rail route near Shivala crossing here today.

The protesters are on indefinite strike since March 2. Jewellers have also installed various billboards demanding resignation of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and blaming him for imposing the duty detrimental for goldsmiths.

They are also against the mandatory provision of furnishing PAN card details by customers for purchase of gold exceeding Rs 2 lakh. The protesters initiated the rail blockade at 11 am today, which continued for an hour and a half.

The agitators raised slogans against the Union government and demanded that the decision to impose excise duty should be rolled back. Leaders of jewellers said they would hand over keys of their businesses establishments to BJP legislators in their areas as a mark of protest.

Leaders of the Amritsar Sarafa Association, Bullion Ornaments and Swarankar Sangh have also threatened to stage a protest outside the residence of Local Bodies Minister Anil Joshi if the government failed to reverse the decision.

The jewellers protest is also being supported by the Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal and the Congress party. Due to the protest by jewellers passengers of Amritsar Express faced harassment as the train stopped ahead of Shivala crossing and they had to cover the remaining distance to railway station on foot. The protest also affected the road traffic on Shivala crossing.

The administration had deployed large number of policemen on the spot to ensure that the protest did not turn violent.