By IANS
Bhubaneswar : At least 20 persons were arrested here Tuesday for attacking outlets of Reliance Fresh.
Hundreds of people under the banner of Bhubaneswar Small Businessmen and Street Vendors Association (BSBSVA) demonstrated in front of Reliance Fresh outlets at the city’s Kalpana square and Nayapalli.
Some protestors became unruly and started pelting stones at the outlets, forcing the shops to down shutters, a city police officer told IANS. However, the police rushed to the spots and arrested about 20 demonstrators leading the agitation, he said.
Pratap Kumar Sahoo, secretary of BSBSVA, told IANS: “We will not allow the company to run its outlets in Bhubaneswar. Local vendors and vegetable sellers will lose their livelihoods if the outlets continue to operate.”
However, Girija Mishra, cluster head of Reliance outlets in Bhubaneswar, said: “Consumers have shown interest in our products.”
“Vegetable sellers will not be affected by the outlets because we will stop marketing vegetables within a few days,” he told media persons.
The company has opened eight outlets in the city. Protestors had earlier attacked two outlets on Sep 25 forcing its officials to close them for some time.