On 25th August, the sweet makers in West Bengal shut shop and went to hunger strike as part of a five day long protest against the imposition of GST on sweets. The strike coincides with the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, a day when sweets from 'barfi' to 'modaks' are in high demand.
The hunger-strike came post a state-wide strike by sweet manufacturers against the tax regime.
K.C. Das sweets also pitched in during the hunger strike. "I am going there myself and we will be there for the next two days," K.C. Das's Director Dhiman Das said.
West Bengal Mistanna Byabsayee Samity’s General Secretary R.K. Paul stated that the Rs 50,000 crore industry in Bengal is "hugely different" from the sweet-making ventures in other states, in terms of the products being "highly perishable", a category exempted from the new (GST) tax regime.