Mumbai: The government has issued a fresh warning to fair price shop dealers in the State to withdraw their strike or else, the government will take strict action against them.
All Maharashtra Fair Price Shopkeepers Federation has announced an indefinite strike from April 1. Fair price shopkeepers have been demanding that the government should bear transport expenses of food grains and give them allowances for the help they have to employ at their ration shops.
They also had demanded that these shop owners should be treated as a government employees and be given Rs 50,000 per month as salary.
Girish Bapat, Minister of Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department appealed to all shop owners to call off the strike. “The government is in favour of their demands and ready to listen to them. When they had protested at Azad Maidan in August, the government had assured them to fulfil their demands and majority of them have been fulfilled. The government also requested shop owners not to go on strike,” said Bapat.
“Their demand of asking for a salary is not logical. If shopkeepers want to strike, then the government
will take strict action against them,” he said.
