Garment Manufacturers today closed units here and launched 'fast-unto-death' as a part of agitation demanding roll-back of 10 per cent excise duty imposed on branded apparels in the Union Budget 2011-12.

"On the call of All India Federation, the garment manufacturing units in Ahmedabad have closed units. Office bearers of 'The Gujarat Garments Manufacturing Association (GGMA)' have gone on fast unto death until the excise duty is rolled back," GGMA President Vijay Puri said.

"GGMA delegation recently met the Excise Commissioner, Ahmedabad and handed over a memorandum of demands to him," Puri said. The trade body claims to have membership of 8,000 manufacturers in Ahmedabad alone, and over 7,000 spread across Gujarat in districts like Surat, Valsad, Vapi and Ankleshwar.

The industry, ranked second in terms of employment generation, has been severely hit by the imposition of excise duty in the Bugdet 2011-12, he said."The garment manufacturing industry here provides direct and indirect employment to over 12 lakh people," Puri claimed.

"The imposition of excise duty is detrimental when exemption limit of SSI has not been raised from Rs 1.5 crore, although the prices of cloth, labour and raw materials have trebled in the past due to inflation," he said.