Jaipur, Oct 16 (KNN) The Federation of Rajasthan Trade and Industry (FORTI) have expressed their resentment on the Income Tax department and ED team’s decision to seal about 1,100 lockers.

The Income Tax department and ED team had conducted raids on Ganpati Plaza on Friday and sealed about 1,100 lockers.

Addressing the media on Sunday, FORTI patron Surjaram Meel said that because some politician alleged something the Central agencies did not lose no time to seal all the lockers.

The business community said that most of the lockers belong to the business community who have been using the facility there for the past 30 years and sealing all of them without any specific information during the festival time is causing huge business losses.

“We have never witnessed an incident like this in the past 30 years since the locker service came into existence in the Ganpati Plaza. If there is a specific input, they could have sealed the lockers like they do with suspicious lockers in banks. But the decision to seal all of them appears to be driven by political agenda. Unfortunately, the business community is dragged into it unnecessarily,” said Meel.

He said that the private lockers are less costly and offer more convenience, the reasons why businessmen use them, and it is not illegal as well. This year, the business community is expecting a better festival without the shadows of the Covid pandemic.

Arun Agarwal, executive president of FORTI said, “The businessmen keep their money and valuables in the lockers because of safety, instead of at home. During the festive season they use lockers because they need to place orders, source material and for many other purposes. The sealing of the lockers has caused a huge inconvenience for them. It’s kind of harassment.”  

(KNN Bureau)