The first meeting of the Bihar State Council of the Traders’ Federation was held in Ara on September 13, with a decision to launch phased struggles against the growing crimes targeting traders, action against street and small traders, and harassment by government officials. The meeting was chaired by Federation state president and CPIML Liberation Ara MP Comrade Sudama Prasad.
The meeting strongly condemned the continuing incidents of theft, snatching, murder and other crimes against traders in Bihar and demanded effective steps to ensure their security. It also opposed action against street vendors and small traders in the name of encroachment, demanding protection of their livelihoods.
A Federation delegation will visit Siwan on September 18 to meet the bereaved family of gold and silver trader Dilip Verma, who was murdered on August 9.
The council decided to launch a membership campaign among traders in chatti bazaars and major markets across Bihar. Market-level conventions will subsequently be organised and market committees formed.
The meeting decided to launch phased struggles for basic facilities in markets, including pure drinking water, adequate lighting, toilets, CCTV cameras, 24-hour mobile police arrangements, repair of damaged roads and proper drainage. These demands will be taken up through movements at district and state levels.
The meeting also decided to organise a sustained movement against the harassment, exploitation and extraction faced by traders from officials of the GST, Income Tax and Weights and Measures departments. It demanded an end to the practice of unnecessarily troubling traders in the name of enforcing laws and creating an atmosphere of fear.
The Federation will organise a national convention in Delhi before the forthcoming Budget Session demanding the formation of a National Traders’ Commission. The meeting stressed the need to organise traders around their basic demands and build a movement to raise these issues at the national level.
The growing impact of online trade and the crisis facing small and medium traders were also discussed. The Federation demanded necessary policy measures to protect small and medium traders and safeguard traditional trade from the growing pressure of online commerce.
Mahendra Shah from Vaishali, Poonam Devi from East Champaran, Anil Kumar from Begusarai, Mohammad Akbar and Sunil Kumar Soni from Patna, Krishna Ranjan Gupta and Rameshwar Kumar from Ara, Sunil Kumar Gupta and Surendra Yadav from Chhapra, and Shambhunath Mehta from Patna City were among those present, along with representatives and members from different districts.
