Threadbare promises, tangled hopes in civic amenity-deprived ‘Textile City’

Tall claims of providing basic infrastructure facilities to industrialists have failed to translate on ground in ‘Textile City’ Panipat. Broken roads, defunct streetlights, choked sewers, poor drainage system, and lack of cleanliness have become the identity of the city’s industrial sectors.

There is no country in the world where handloom products — carpets, cushions, bedsheets, curtains, bath mats, floor covers and towels — manufactured in Panipat are not being supplied: such is the scale of industrial operations here.

Situated on NH-44, Panipat is a mere 90 km from national capital Delhi, and industries here have around a 60,000 crore annual turnover, of which around 20,000 crore can be attributed to exports, and approximately Rs 40,000 crore to the domestic market.

Notably, Panipat has emerged as the biggest recycling hub of discarded clothes in the world.

Despite being globally recognised for its handloom products and recycling efforts, industry stakeholders in Panipat have been crying for basic amenities for years, only to be met with government officials’ apathy.

Panipat’s industrial areas are Sector 29 Part-1 and Part-2; Sector 25 Part-1 and Part-2; and the Old Industrial Area.

Heaps of garbage on the sides of roads, industrial wastewater accumulated on green belts, overflowing sewers, and choked stormwater drain lines are sights too common for the industrial sectors of the city.

Almost all these areas plunge into darkness after sunsets, as several streetlights in these areas have been non-functional for many years.

Exporter and Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industries (Panipat Chapter) chairman Vinod Dhamija said the Old Industrial Area — the oldest industrial cluster in the city, which was established in 1949 — was home to around 300 operational industries. The plight of the area was worrisome, with industrialists ruing the lack of basic amenities, he added.

Some roads had been constructed here, after demands in this regard were raised by industrial associations, he said.

However, the development — or the lack thereof — of sewers and roadsides here left much to be desired, he added.

In the absence of any arrangement for garbage lifting or sweeping, heaps of garbage ‘adorned’ the roads of the area, Dhamija said.

The lack of a common effluent treatment plant (CETP), where water used in dyeing could be treated — a key demand of industry stakeholders — was another pressing issue, he added, stating that not a single department had risen to the task of taking care of the basic infrastructural needs of industry stakeholders.

Shree Bhagwan Aggarwal, president, Sector 29 Part-1 industrial association, said, despite Panipat industries providing employment to lakhs of persons, and depositing crores of rupees in tax with the government annually, industrial sectors in the city were in a sorry state. Despite housing over 200 factories, the area’s sewers and stormwater drains were badly choked, he added, stating that, much like the Old Industrial Area, garbage heaps was a common sight here.

Aggarwal claimed that the MC was trying to turn the sector into a ‘slum’, as garbage collected from adjoining unauthorised colonies was being dumped here.

Grievances over the plight of the area had reached the Mayor, Deputy Commissioner, MC Commissioner, and DLC meetings, but to no avail, he added.

Sanjeev Garg, secretary, Sector 25 Industrial Area Association, said a contract for the construction of roads was allotted by the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) recently, after regular efforts by the association. However, the work would began after the rains. A MoU was signed between the Urban Local Bodies Department and the HSIIDC last December, and, now, the HSIIDC would maintain all basic amenities in the industrial sectors with the consent of the ULB Department, he said.

In a meeting held with the officials of the HSIIDC and the Mayor, it was decided that contracts for streetlights and sweeping would be invited soon, he added.

Bheem Rana, chairman, Federation of Industrialists Association, and chairman, Haryana Environmental Society, said the state of roads had always been a huge issue for Sector 29 Part-2.

“Sector 29 Part-2 is a unique example in the state where lakhs of people are working, but there is no facility of potable water. To make matters worse, streetlights have not been installed here,” he added.

Industries had been demanding a common boiler for several years — a demand that remained unfulfilled, he said.

Crores of litres of water was being discharged into drains every day, with industry stakeholders calling for water treated at a sewage treatment plant to be put to industrial use, but this demand, too, fell on deaf ears, Rana added.