Poll effect: Fear of search curtails retail business by 25%

Coimbatore: Representatives of 93 trade and business associations in Coimbatore today asked the Election Commission to throw light on the real definition of documents the public should carry to prove the money was genuine.

They claimed that retail business in and around the city has come down by 25 percent since the beginning of the week following searches carried out by flying squads to flush out unaccounted money.

Fearing unnecessary harassment from the officials public were afraid to carry money, RR Balasundharan, president of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Coimbatore (ICCI), told reporters in Coimbatore.

Business and trade normally have four-stage accumulation of money which after banking hours, have to be carried to their home, he said.

They release the money only the next day on production of documents, Balasundharam said, adding, the Commission should take steps to release the money on the spot once the documents were shown.

Balasundaram warned that traders and businessmen would call for a day’s bandh, as done in Salem and Namakkal, if the situation did not improve or a positive response not received from the administration by 19 March.

Vice-president of ICCI, Nandakumar demanded the limit should be raised to Rs 3 lakhs. Statistics of the seizure so far revealed that all the amount belonged to businessmen and not a single incident where a politician’s money was seized.

PTI