Mill closure leaves workers in throes of hunger

hubli: ever since the mahadeva textile mill was closed five years ago, it has been an endless litany of woes for its workers. abject poverty has hit these workers hard. fourteen of them have passed away and anand hanumanthappa died recently. the plight was such that the victim, having scratched along for five years, found himself unable to bear the medical expenses. while this is the story of those who are no more in the scene, others are just fighting a losing battle. there is no hope even in the brightest of corners. though the government has made many assurances that the pending dues of the employees would be cleared, nothing has been done so far. when textile minister m. mahadevappa had visited hubli recently, he had claimed that the government would announce a package for the employees on january 1. that is not coming through either. the plan was to sell the 51 acres of land which housed the closed mill, estimated to fetch rs 60 crore. but now, the aggrieved employees are crippled with fresh fears. that any further dawdling on the plan will have the huge property grabbed by land sharks. to make matters worse, there is an allegation that some portion of the land has been already encroached by some influential people. the minister had stated that after settling the provident fund, gratuity and other compensations for the employees, the rest would be given to the kptc. it is said that an amount running into crores to be paid by the mill to the kptc is still to be settled. with a present that has nothing to offer, the employees are no more proud of their past. the mill, one of the prestigious industrial units of the region before its closure, had a workforce of 5,000 and the management changed hands from private to co-operative sector and later the state government took over. the fabric produced by the mill was of export quality and had found market in russia. the mahadeva textile mill was the only one in the public sector category and was the oldest in north karnataka. the mill was closed in 1998 during the janata dal government. earlier, when s. bangarappa was the chief minister, the government entered into an understanding with the employees that no additional wages would be paid. earlier, it was handed over to a contractor who could not complete the contract period of 20 years. after the congress government took over, it was felt that the pending dues of the employees would be settled for the reason that state labour minister a.m. hindasgeri is a native of hubli. the government ruled out the revival of the mahadeva mill and had commissioned an agency to evolve a scheme to settle the dues. all these steps have come a cropper. the mill's prime position has faded away. its employees are dying of hunger. what remains of the mill, behind those closed doors is a label that it did not sustain competition after the economy was thrown open.