India News | Over 1,200 Jewellers in Ghaziabad on Strike Against New Hallmarking Measures
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. As many as 1,280 jewellers on Monday kept their shutters down in the district in opposition to the hallmarking unique identification digit (HUID) saying that the bullion traders are not against hallmarking but that the scheme will bring in "inspector raj and corruption", an official said.
Ghaziabad (UP), Aug 23 (PTI) As many as 1,280 jewellers on Monday kept their shutters down in the district in opposition to the hallmarking unique identification digit (HUID) saying that the bullion traders are not against hallmarking but that the scheme will bring in "inspector raj and corruption", an official said.
The daylong nationwide strike was called by the All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) and supported by various associations across the country.
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Mandatory gold hallmarking, a purity certification of the precious metal, has come into force from June 16 in a phased manner. The Central government has identified 256 districts from 28 states and Union territories for the Phase-1 implementation.
The verification process of jewellers under this procedure will take at least 10 to 15 days as a needy customer would not be able to get the cash ready for the jewellers in emergency cases, Ghaziabad Sarafa Association Raj Kishore Gupta said.
Most traders do not have computers and are not aware about its operations, he said, adding that the tedious process will create problems for several traders.
The government is intending to impose a 'black bill' to patronise the big bullion trading houses while the business of small and medium traders would be destroyed, Gupta said.
In Ghaziabad alone, 1,280 such traders went on strike due to which the local jewellery market suffered a loss of nearly Rs 180 crore in the district.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)