Textile traders across the city have sought total exemption from GST till 2019. The demand was submitted to the commercial tax commissioner, Dr P D Vaghela, on Wednesday.

According to Gaurang Bhagat, the president of Maskati Cloth Merchants Association, an awareness programmes about the GST are needed for textile traders. The traders should be prepared for the new tax before it is imposed.

He said that the commissioner has assured them that their case will be presented to the Union government.

Meanwhile, some 800 units of allied industries have extended support to the bandh by deciding to keep their businesses shut on Thursday. These include 20 members of the Ahmedabad Yarn Merchants Association, 70 of the Ahmedabad Sutar Mahajan, 700 of Ahmedabad Hand Screen Printing Units Association, and 80 members of Ahmedabad Textile Processing Units Association.

Some 25,000 textile traders and members of allied industries will form a human chain to protest against the GST. This human chain will pass through some 25 cloth markets. The chain will begin from Panchkuva Cloth Market near Dariyapur and span Sindhi Market, LK Trust Building, Dhanlakshmi Market, Maskati Mahajan, HA Market, Bombay Market, DC Cloth Market, Revdi Bazar, and Safal Market, among others.

Nitin Thakkar, the president of Ahmedabad Textile Processing Units Association said that the GST has already been implemented on processing units, they understand the woes of textile traders and therefore decided to extend their support to their movement.