‘Centre must give embroidery units relaxation in repayment of loans’

Industry and Lockdown

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Johny Dhawan, owner of Shri Bala Ji Trading company, has a vast experience in the embroidery and yarn business. In an interview with Charanjit Singh Teja, Dhawan, who is also the president of the Amritsar Embroidery Thread Association, discusses the impact of the lockdown on the embroidery and yarn industry. Excerpts:

How has the lockdown impacted the embroidery industry?

The industry suffered a major blow after the imposition of the lockdown. There are about 225 major embroidery units in the city. The cycle has been disrupted due to the curfew. The industry has around 1,800-crore annual turnover. We buy clothes from Gujarat, including Surat, and carry out the embroidery work here. After design and embellishment of clothes, we further sell these in the local market and neighbouring states. We export shawls. We are paying the power bills, bank loans, installments of machines and salaries of workers when the manufacturing work has come to a halt.

Do you expect resumption of your business in near future?

It depends on the government that when it will allow us to start manufacturing. The embroidery industry was already suffering as a huge investment is required for establishing a unit. Costly machines were bought after getting loans from banks. The long shutdown will ruin the industry. Sophisticated embroidery machines will need costly service when we restart them after a long break. The embroidery industry can’t afford more delay in reopening. The opening of the industry will not help much. We need a market to sell the product. If shops will open, we will get our payments of the previous orders.

How are you dealing with issue of paying salaries to workers?

Almost 90 per cent of the embroidery workers work on contact. We have 10 per cent staff who get salaries that include accountants, dispatchers and office boys. We have paid the salaries of March. We have also paid half of the salary of April and provided them ration. We will take care of our workers as most of them are with us from years, but the government should also support them. Contractual workers are sitting idle. We are worried about them. Now they started returning to their native states. It will add to the woes as after reopening of units, we will not get labour.

What is the role of online trading in your business?

The online trade does not exceed more than five per cent in the profession. Being a designer item, dealers want to minutely look at the suits and shawl before purchasing them. There are a lot of shades of thread and designs so it is even not possible to exhibit everything online.

Do you consider the current crisis a challenge or an opportunity?

It is a major challenge as the lockdown will break the backbone of the embroidery industry. We are bearing all expenses. We supply our product without taking money. It is being collected after one month. So we will not be paid for the already supplied product. We have to pay in advance for the yarn as soon we start the work. So we are in a deep crisis.

What are your expectations from the government?

The Centre should ask banks to provide relaxation in loan repayment and installments. Otherwise, we will go bankrupt. We also need working capital for six months. The government should release some funds without interest. We are paying heavy taxes. The government should help those industrialists who have a good record of paying taxes.