Thursday, March 31 2005 10:51 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The nationwide Trade Bandh extended to two more States- Karnataka and Tripura on the second day as traders were unrelenting in their demand for a roll back of the Value Added Tax (VAT) coming into force tomorrow (April 1, 2005).

Despite an appeal by Empowered Committee Chairman Asim Dasgupta for calling off the strike, traders continued their agitation.

"The wholesale market will be closed today also. We want more dialogue with the Empowered Committee," secretary general of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) Praveen Khandelwal said.

Twenty-one States have decided to introduce VAT from tomorrow. But States like Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Meghalaya may not switch over to VAT from April 1.

The three-day strike called by CAIT virtually paralysed wholesale trade yesterday (Mar 30, 2005) although retailers made brisk business in most States.

The bandh badly affected trade in Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir on the first day.

The strike had evoked mixed response in Delhi, Bihar, Assam, Orissa and Punjab. Traders in Tripura and Karnataka will go on strike today (Mar 31, 2005) while there is unlikely to be any response from traders in Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Goa and Meghalaya.