AGARTALA, Feb 10 (TIWN): Along with the nation all major jewellery retailers like P C Chandra, Tanishq, Senco Gold and other jewellery association participated in the one day strike in Tripura on Wednesday.

The strike is observed by more by more than 300 jewellery association to protest against norms that make it mandatory to quote PAN for any transactions of Rs 2 lakh and above.

The strike is called to protest against the government's decision to impose PAN card for purchases above Rs two lakh.

This restriction has put a pressure on the sale of jewellery, particularly in the semi-urban and rural regions, he said. With only 22.3 crore PAN cards being issued, people residing in these areas were finding it extremely difficult to purchase jewellery as a result of which there had been a 30% dip in sales volumes since January one, 2016.

Reportedly, nearly 50% of gold jewellers' business generally originates from the small towns and thousands of workers and artisans associated with the trade would face deep financial problems.

All major retailers like P C Chandra, Tanishq, Senco Gold and from other states also participated in the strike. As many as 300 associations of jewellery trade with over 100,000 shops across the country observed a day-long token strike on February 10, to protect against the government’s ruling that furnishing a PAN card would be mandatory for any purchase of Rs. 2 lakh and above.

It is to be mentioned here that according to the jewellery association this restriction on jewellery buyers has already dented business volumes and the slowdown has affected jobs for millions of workers, artisans and small traders in the jewellery sector across India, according to them. Their business turnover has dropped by over 30 per cent since the imposition of the restriction about a month ago.