Chennai: The three-day strike by jewellers has been called off and jewellery shops were opened on Sunday after the public began to demand that the shops be opened, said Madras jewellers and diamond merchants’ association members. The decision to open the shops came after the association held talks with the officials of the Gem and Jewellers Federation members in Mumbai on Saturday.
“There is an ongoing demand for gold and diamond due to the marriage season where a lot of people have been urging us to open the shops. Keeping the urgent need of the public and after a mutual understanding with the Gem and jewellers federation in Mumbai we have decided to open it for the time being,” said S.Santhakumar, Secretary of Madras jewellers and diamond merchants association. He also added that in Chennai alone, the loss due to the three-day strike has touched Rs.200 crore.
The Gem and jewellers federation has already submitted a memorandum to the union finance minister Arun Jaitley to withdraw the decision of imposing one percent excise duty on Jewels such as gold and diamond last week. Meanwhile, the strike is still underway in all other states in the country.
