The Coimbatore District Printers Association President requested the Centre and State Governments to hold talks with paper mills and ban the export of papers to curb the price hike.
Coimbatore: The Coimbatore District Printers Association, along with members from the Pollachi Printing Society staged a protest in front of the Coimbatore South Taluk Office demanding a curb on the hike in paper costs. The agitators also pressed for various other demands on behalf of their Department.
Kumaravel, the President of the Coimbatore District Printers Association led the protest. The agitators condemned the Centre's move to increase the GST rate on most of the print goods from 12 percent to 18 percent, and the hike in the cost of ordinary paper up to Rs. 7,000 per tonne and the hike in the cost of artboard paper up to Rs. 50,000 per tonne. They demanded that the price of paper, blades and chemicals need to be controlled, and most importantly that paper mills should not increase charges on a daily basis.
The protesters also demanded that the Union Government reduce the GST rate, and also impose a ban on paper export. Over 100 people who took part in the demonstration held placards and shouted slogans to press for their demands.
Speaking to the media in Coimbatore, Kumaravel lamented that "The Centre had increased the GST rate to 18 percent while the industry is slowly recovering from the non-payment of salaries to employees during the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite repeated requests to the Centre, no decision has been taken, and paper mills have increased the price of paper to an all-time high. The Central Government must reduce the GST rate and fix the right price. We also request the Centre and State Governments to hold talks with paper mills and ban the export of papers to curb the price hike."
