KATHMANDU, April 25: Most shops gold, silver and diamond shops were closed Wednesday, giving continuity to protests against the government´s market monitoring carried out Monday. Bullion traders associated with the Nepal Gold, Silver, Gem and Jewelry Federation (NSGJF) continued the closure of all associated shops nationwide.
According to the federation, there are altogether 2,000 shops associated with it, of which 800 are in Kathmandu Valley.[break]
Major jewelry shops in the New Road area such as Shree Balaji Diamond Gems and Jewellery, Shalimar Jewellers, Shree Ganpati Jewellers, Shree Ridhi Sidhi Jewellers, RB Diamond Jewellers, City Gold Jewellers, Gahana Griha, R. K Jewellers, Marigold Jewellers, Silver House, and Shree Om Jewellers, remained closed.
Ramesh Maharjan, chairman of NSGJF, said that shops associated with it will remain closed unless the government heeds their request to come up with clear regulations and standards for market monitoring.
PHOTO: DIPESH SHRESTHA
“We submitted a memorandum to the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) and the Ministry of Industries (MoI) on Tuesday, demanding that the government set out regulations and standards for monitoring the market for precious commodities. Our protests will continue and shops will remain closed until the government commits itself to fulfilling our demands,” said Maharjan.
However, shops associated with the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers´ Associations (FNGSDA) remained open Wednesday. “Though we have also protested against the method of monitoring and termed it as ´terrorism´ and an attempt to engineer the collapse of our business, we have not closed our shops,” said Mani Ratna Shakya, chairman of FNGSDA.
FNGSDA has also submitted a memorandum to Chairman of the Interim Election Council Khil Raj Regmi, demanding an increase in the quota of gold supplied to the market, regulations for market monitoring and a halt to the terrorizing of gold traders.
Reacting to the problems put forth by bullion traders, MoCS has directed the Department of Commerce and Supply Management (DoCSM) to follow the Joint Market Monitoring Guidelines (JMMG), 2012.
“We have directed DoCSM to make it compulsory for all those in the monitoring team to carry identity cards, include people in a monitoring team only as per the need, and monitor only such aspects as quality, quantity, bills and VAT and Tax bills, among other things, as mentioned in the JMMG,” said Deepak Subedi, spokesperson at MoCS.
Meanwhile, the price of gold has continued to rise, and reached Rs 51,500 per tola (11.664 grams), up by Rs 500 compared to Tuesday.
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