PONDA: The Retail Mobile Shop Owners’ Association in Ponda on Wednesday kept their shops closed to protest the online sale of mobile phones by the mobile companies, which they claimed has ruined their business.
They have demanded a ban on online sale of mobile phones as it “is depriving” them of customers.
Addressing media persons, Vinod Dhavlikar said, “Since past four years they have been suffering due to online sale of mobile phones at cheaper rates. People now are buying mobiles online stating that they are getting them at cheaper rates.”
He said, “This is injustice to us and we demand that these mobile companies should sell mobile phones at the same rate to us as sold online. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant should look into our problems. We have no customers due to online shopping. We can’t bear the cost of GST and our staff. We will force to shut our business and will be forced to sit at home if government fails to ban the online shopping immediately.”
