Khetia: Cotton association demands slash in Mandi tax; threatens to go on strike on Oct 3

Khetia (Madhya Pradesh): Members of the cotton association on Friday handed over a memorandum to mandi secretary Masharam Jamre here at Krishi Upaj Mandi in Khetiya town of Barwani district.

In the memorandum given under Madhyanchal Cotton Ginners and Traders Association, it was an appeal to the state government to bring down the mandi tax rate to 0.5% on cotton, for the benefit of farmers and traders. In order to encourage trade within the mandi, it was also demanded to abolish the destitute duty.

By reducing mandi fees, this step is necessary to make it attractive for one to come and trade in Mandi and assist Mandi and traders and farmers who have been hit by inflation. Association members have also threatened to go on strike on October 3 demanding a tax cut and claimed that higher tax was hurting their business.

Giving information, Amit Malviya, president of the local cotton association, said that the association had recently written a letter to the state government demanding a cut in the mandi tax rate but to no avail.

If the state government does not pay heed to request and lower the taxes, traders will be left with no option but to call for a strike. During this, members of the cotton association including Praveen Shah, Rajesh Nahar, Bhikam Joshi, Yogi Harsola, Chetan Sancheti, Anil Chaudhary, Ashish Jain and others were also present.