TRADERS staged a protest on Wednesday against the commercial licence fee imposed in Bhopal, demanding its immediate withdrawal. They reached the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) office at ISBT and staged a sit-in under the banner of the Bhopal Chamber of Commerce and Industries. A delegation of traders met Mayor Malti Rai and Council Chairman Kishan Suryavanshi and raised objections to the fee.

 

They said traders in Bhopal had been paying the charge for years, while no such fee was being collected in other cities of Madhya Pradesh. Trader representatives questioned why Bhopal businesses were being subjected to an additional financial burden when similar commercial licence charges were not applicable elsewhere in the state. They termed the arrangement discriminatory and sought clarity on the basis for imposing the fee only in the state capital.