Meetings happen, but no result, rue traders

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, November 24

Industrialists in the region used to share their plight and concerns with every minister. Traders and manufacturers go to meet officials and ministers in Chandigarh and when any minister arrives here, the businessmen make sure that they apprise them of every issue.

But after several meetings and discussions, the industrialists said, not even a single problem had been resolved yet. Every issues remains the same even after several requests. Rakesh Chawla, a small trader, said in the meetings: “The ministers promises things and listens to us but after that everyone forget everything.”

The industrialists also reminded Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur of his connection with Jalandhar to convince him that efforts must be done to revive the industry here. The minister attended the event in which he met industrialists. Nearly 30 associations participated in it.

An industrialist said, “MSME waale kabhi haarte nahee, aur na hi apne kasht jaldi se kisi ko batate hain (The traders don’t accept defeat and they do not tell their problems easily to anyone).”

Earlier in the meetings, the industrialists demanded basic amenities at focal points, VAT refund and electricity at Rs 5 per unit.

They had said besides raw materials, there was also need for a research and development centre in the region.

“Now, industrialists are not ready to seek anything from the government. They know that the government will not provide anything,” said one of the senior industrialists, adding that the policies remain on papers.

An industrialist from rubber industry said: “Our main issue is VAT and GST refunds, adding that the government is not paying attention towards it.”