Jewellers in the Tricity opened their shops on Wednesday to poor response, ending their 42-day strike. As many as 750 jewellers in the Tricity were on an indefinite strike against the Centre for imposing an excise duty of 1 per cent on gold and diamond jewellery. They were also protesting over making PAN card mandatory on purchase of jewellery of more than Rs 2 lakh. [related-post] The resumption of business evoked a luke warm response and most of the shops wore a deserted look. Jewellers called off the strike after the government assured them that their demands would be considered. Vinod Talwar, president, Jewellers’ Association of Chandigarh, said: “As many people were not aware that the strike has been called off, there was a low turnout of customers today (Monday). However, the business will pick up in the next few days.” The strike resulted in loss worth crores to the government and jewellers both. Talwar said they have decided to keep open the shops till April 24.
