Power looms in Ichalkaranji not likely to start operations

Kolhapur: Even though the government has provided relaxation in lockdown for industries across the country given they follow certain rules, the textile and

power looms

in Ichalkaranji are not likely to begin operations.

Most of the workers working in the textile town, which used to produce 1.25 crore metre of cloth daily, hail from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. And owing to the Covid-19 outbreak these workers are in no mood to stay back.

Prakash Awade, MLA from Ichalkaranji constituency, said, "More than 50% of the workers that were working in various textile and power looms in the region have gone to their native places We have managed to retain remaining workforce by providing them daily food and other essential material required to sustain during lockdown. They also want to go to their native places after lockdown is lifted. We expect that they will return Ichalkaranji after visiting their homes, but this will delay in starting the textile units."

He added, "Though the government has granted permission to start the industries, the textile units cannot start operations because the cloth making is a chain process. We need to start power looms that produce yarn, and then with the help of yarn cloth is produced which is further processed and then sold in the market. The shops should be open in the market for selling the cloth. It will take more than one month for the whole chain to function efficiently after the lockdown is lifted."

Awade also informed that the raw material produced in Ichalkaranji is sold in the markets in Ahmedabad, Surat, Mumbai and Delhi. "Unless the traders place orders from these places to the industrialists for production of cloth, the industries won’t take risk to start production," he said.