Brihat Bangalore Mahanagar Palika (BBMP ) Office locked by Farmers and Vendors :
Dear Friends,
Farmers and vendors blocked and locked the Brihat Bangalore Mahanagar Palika (BBMP) office -
(as reported by Mr. Babu Khan, Campaign Organizer, India FDI Watch, Bangalore)
Bangalore, March 11th 2008 : Tuesday a busy day for K.R.Puram farmers, traders and vendors, because Tuesday is the weekly market day in this area. Many farmers, local retailers and vendors usually comes to K.R.Puram to sell and purchase the goods. Local people of surrounding areas also visit the market because the vegetables and other commodities are available at cheaper rates. This market is having a history of more than 50 years and the daily market started almost 15 years back to support the local retailers and consumers. Farmers are coming here as far as from 60-70 Kms from rural areas. The business usually starts around 4am in the morning and continues till the evening. More than 2000 local vendors and retailers depend on the market. Farmers, coming from the rural area, to sell vegetables have to pay tax for each bag and vendors also pays daily tax for the small space they occupy.
Along with India FDI Watch, hundreds of farmers and vendors marched towards BBMP office, shouting slogans. They blocked and locked the office, the Deputy commissioner of Bangalore arrived and discussed the issue with protesters and announced that, the issue will be solved within 2 days. For two days no tax will be collected from the farmers.
Recently an order was issued by the Assistant Revenue Officer ordering higher taxes for the farmers and retailers. Contractors in nexus with corporation officials were exploiting the farmers and vendors to encourage corporate malls coming around in the area. Protesters demanded immediate removal of the officers and contractors involved in the exploitation of farmers and vendors. They also demanded the Deputy Commissioner that, within the radius of 5 Kms of the market, corporation authorities should not give permission for any corporate store.
Other demands include basic facilities in the market, drainage and rest house for the farmers.
Mittals name retail stores Bharti EasyDay
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Mittals-name-retail-stores-Bharti-EasyDay/282409/
New Delhi, Mar 9 Bharti Retail, which has tied up with Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, will name its convenience stores Bharti EasyDay. The first batch of stores will be launched on April 2. A total of five stores will be launched initially�€”four in Ludhiana and one in Chandigarh. The convenience stores will focus heavily on the food and beverages section. According to industry sources, the stores would be modelled on Reliance Fresh stores. The store size will vary from 1,300 square feet to 3,000 sq ft.
As is known, Wal-Mart has a technical agreement with Bharti for Its front-end retail stores. For the back-end cash and carry segment the two Companies have entered into a 50:50 joint venture. As earlier reported by FE, Wal-Mart Inc’s vice-chairman Mike Duke had clearly hinted that the front-end stores would not carry the Wal-Mart tag. This is because three-fourths of Wal-Mart’s international business earnings are under 52 local brands across the globe. “We want to be seen as local retailers serving the needs of the local people in an area,” Duke had said. However, Rajan Bharti Mittal, managing director, Bharti Enterprises, had earlier said the final rollout plans of the retail and cash and carry stores would be made in April, and brand names for the retail and cash and carry stores would be announced then. According to industry sources, the forced closure of Reliance Retail stores in Uttar Pradesh might have prompted Bharti to rework its branding strategy, and drop the Wal-Mart name to avoid any negative brand perception.
The first cash and carry store operated by Wal-Mart will be rolled out by the year-end. Bharti-Wal-Mart is expected to open 10-15 cash and carry stores in seven years and employ about 5,000 people.
Reliance Retail in JV for optical stores
The JV hopes to roll out its stores by September and expects to have a large network of outlets
http://www.livemint.com/2008/03/03002658/Reliance-Retail-in-JV-for-opti.html
Reliance Retail Ltd has formed a 50:50 joint venture with Europe’s HAL Holding NV to open stand-alone optical stores throughout India, eyeing a business that is virtually controlled by the unorganized sector.
The joint venture proposes to seek permission from India’s Foreign Investment Promotional Board, which approves and regulates foreign investment in the country, to operate stores here. The stores are kosher under India’s fairly restrictive laws regulating foreign investment in the retail sector because the country allows 51% foreign ownership in single-brand retail. HAL is the holding firm for a raft of leading European optical retailers who collectively run more than 2,500 outlets in two dozen countries and operates stores under Vision Express in the UK, Apollo Optik in Germany, Pearle Opticiens and various other brands in countries from Norway to Australia.
Joint venture hopes to roll out its stores by September and expects to have a “large network” of outlets across the nation. “The (brand) name is still being firmed up but Vision Express looks like the most prospective name as it’s very popular in the UK and other countries.
In Solidarity!
Dharmendra Kumar
Director
India FDI Watch
M-09871179084
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