Nagpur: The industry and traders’ cell of Maharashtra Congress, along with its Madhya Nagpur unit, staged a demonstration against UPI charges at Itwari on Friday. The protesters also attempted to burn an effigy of Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, but police intervened and seized it, triggering a brief confrontation.Led by Maharashtra Pradesh Congress general secretary and Industry and Traders’ Cell president Atul Kotecha, several party workers and traders took part in the demonstration at Gandhi Putla Chowk, raising slogans against the Centre. They demanded that UPI users not be burdened with additional charges.“From tea stalls and vegetable vendors to grocery shops and large commercial establishments, after encouraging people to adopt digital payments, imposing an additional financial burden on the same system amounts to a U-turn,” Kotecha said.He said small traders were already grappling with rising costs and financial pressures, and claimed that any additional charges on merchant UPI transactions could eventually affect both traders and consumers.Nagpur Vidarbha Chamber of Commerce president Kailash Jogani and Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe said the govt should reconsider any arrangement that could raise transaction costs for small businesses or consumers.Also present were Govind Pasari, Jagannath Road Traders Association president Pankaj Muniyar, corporators Wasim Khan and Saiyeda Nizam Ansari, Suhas Nanwatkar, Vivek Nikose, Rohit Yadav and Traders’ Front city president Shrikant Dholke.
