'Quit Retail' campaign moves full steam ahead, gets more support

Preparations are in full swing for a massive "Quit Retail" rally in Mumbai on October 10, when 50,000-100,000 wholesalers, hawkers, farmers, retailers, chemists and cooperatives from all over Maharashtra will converge at the Azad Maidan to demand the exit of big corporations from the retail business.

Workers at the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) mandis across Maharashtra have also decided to join the rally. "Therefore, all such mandis across the state will remain shut on October 10," said Vinod Shetty, spokesperson, Vyapaar Rozgaar Suraksha Kriti Samiti, which is organising the rally.

One of the demands at the rally will be scrapping of the Model APMC Act, which has been adopted by Maharashtra. Under the Act, private companies can set up wholesale markets and procure directly from farmers. Reliance Retail is in the process of setting up one such market in Navi Mumbai.

In what could be as a major setback to corporate retailers, the textile workers and large trade unions like the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) have decided to join the cause.

"Yesterday, thousands of textile workers courted arrest at the Azad Maidan grounds. Their livelihood is also under threat from these corporates and foreign retailers. They are already suffering as mill land, on which many of them had stalls, is being developed into large shopping malls," said Shetty.

The organisers have started touring the city in open buses and distributing leaflets outside shopping malls. On Gandhi Jayanti, 15 people were "practising Satyagraha" and handing out leaflets at Phoenix High Street, where many big retailers, like Big Bazaar, Lifestyle, Marks & Spencer and McDonalds, are operational. The police detained seven "satyagrahis," but released them at night.

Today, the lobbyists toured central Mumbai to create awareness of how big corporates and foreign retailers would adversely impact the livelihood of millions of people who depend on retail for livelihood.

Small retailer groups are also organising meetings at night to mobilise as many people as possible for the rally. They met yesterday at Malad. Today's meeting will be held at Khapoli in Navi Mumbai.