A day after German giant Metro Cash & Carry said it is hopeful of Karnataka amending the APMC (Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee) Act, traders in Bangalore city called for a bandh against the operations of Metro on Saturday, November 15.

Swadeshi Jagran Manch is backing the move.

Announcing this in Bangalore on Thursday, SJM convenor S Gurumurthy called for mass movement against Metro s operations in the city.

"If we do not stop their operations, they will spread across the nation and it will create a huge negative impact on the wholesale and distribution network in the country," Gurumurthy said.

However, Metro on its part stated that they are abiding by the law of the land and will not seek any concessions.

"We are a pure business-to-business player and our model is not retail. In fact, if we allow retail customers to come into out distribution centres, we just can't handle the thousands of customers who will troop in," said Metro Cash & Carry India managing director Harsh Bahadur.

"Regarding the APMC Act, we are talking with the state government and if the amendment happens, it will benefit the farmers to a large extent," Bahadur added.

Currently, APMC Act allows trading only under the prescribed APMC yard limits, and Metro seeks to buy from the yard and sell the agriculture produce from its distribution centres.

Urging that the issue be politicised, Gurumurthy said: "It s not just traders who should be involved. The entire mass of country should be mobilised against Metro who are indirectly affecting nearly 3 crore (Rs billion) traders and their families in this country. This is a national danger in front of us and we are creating a citizens' action committee to take up this issue at the highest level of the government."