Several retail stores of Reliance as
well as a substantially big outlet of Walmart are facing revenue losses
amounting to millions of dollars after the protest against farm laws forced
them to shut down for more than three months, reports Reuters.

Farmers from north Indian states such
as Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh have been occupying the borders of Delhi
for more than 50 days now, with their demands being a complete repealing of the
farm laws as well as for the government to ensure the Minimum Support Price (MSP)
for their crops.

Also read: Farm bills have the capacity to take forward agricultural reforms in India, says IMF

Fear of vandalism and harm coming to the
employees have forced the companies to close shop, with reportedly 100 Reliance
retail stores and Walmart’s 50,000 square-feet wholesale outlet in Punjab’s Bathinda
remaining closed, according to a Reuters report.

“We are scared of the protesting
farmers,” a senior official of a currently closed Reliance outlet in Mohali was
quoted as saying.

Also read: Bhupinder Singh Mann pulls out of SC-appointed panel on farm laws amid criticism

Reportedly, losses for Reliance from
the shutdowns run into several million dollars, while Walmart’s loss from the Bathinda
outlet, one of its 29 such stores in the nation, has flown into $8 million.

According to a Punjab state official,
authorities are ready to provide security but cannot help in case of the companies
deciding to keep their shops shut.