Trade bodies stage protest against note ban

Ludhiana: Over 200 businessmen from different trade bodies on Friday staged a sit-in against the Centre’s demonetisation move here, saying the industry has been hit hard after high-value currency notes were scrapped. The protest was also joined by senior Congress leader Sunil Jakhar and Lok Insaf Party leader Simarjeet Singh Bains. The protesters also blocked traffic for about an hour and raised slogans against the Narendra Modi-led government. Local industry representatives claimed demonetisation had adversely impacted businesses and also rendered a large number of labourers jobless. “Demonetisation has badly hit Punjab’s consumption economy. The withdrawal of liquidity has triggered the collapse of every entrepreneur in the state while industries have already laid off thousands of workers in recent months, firstly because of exploitative polices of the local leadership and then due to demonetisation,” Jakhar claimed.              —PTI