Two federations of gold, silver, gem and diamond dealers have been staging protest since Wednesday, demanding that the government withdraw cases against dealers found involved in cheating consumers and draft market monitoring guidelines as per their suggestions. They have forced closure of jewelry outlets across the country.
The Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Associations (FNGSDA) and Federation of Nepal Gold, Silver, Gems and Jewelry Associations (FNGSGJA) have been piling pressure on the government to withdraw cases against jewelers found involved in anomalies. They have even stopped fixing rates of gold and silver and issuing recommendations for banks to sell gold.
“The meeting held on Tuesday failed to reach a concrete decision regarding the monitoring guidelines,” Ramesh Maharjan, president of FNGSGJA, said. “Our protest will continue until the government incorporates our suggestions in the monitoring guidelines and withdraw cases against jewelers.” According to Maharjan, government officials have hinted that they are positive about incorporating suggestions of jewelry traders in the monitoring guidelines.
Narayan Prasad Bidari, director general of Department of Commerce and Supply Management (DOCSM), said the government might incorporate suggestions of the jewelry traders if need be. “But this doesn´t mean that we will withdraw cases filed against the wrongdoers. We can take action against them under various acts,” added Bidari. “We won´t compromise even if jewelry outlets are closed for a year.”
The next round of talks is scheduled to be held on Thursday.
Mani Ratna Shakya, president of FNGSDA, said the traders won´t call off the protest unless the government agrees to draft the guidelines as per their suggestions. “The government can´t take action against the traders as the guideline is yet to be formulated. We cannot show flexibility on this issue,” he added.
Meanwhile, bullion traders are organizing nationwide protest rally on Wednesday. The rally will see participation of gold and silver dealers from all 75 districts. The rally will culminate into a national gathering which will put pressure on the government to listen to their demands, according to Shakya.
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