Factories shut for festivities

Most of the factories and industrial units in Ludhiana will remain shut for four days. Owing to Diwali and Vishkarma day on Saturday, the units will now open on Monday. Then there’s the Chhat Puja and the majority of workers had already planned the holidays, factories would be fully operational after November 10, industrialists said.

Badish Jindal, president, All Industries Trade Union (AITU), said Chhat Puja fell on November 6. This is one of the biggest festivals celebrated by migrant workers from UP and Bihar. Around 10 to 12 lakh migrants earn a livelihood in Ludhiana. He said that migrants were performing their rituals and had kept fast so they didn’t turn up to the factories. “Many of the workers have gone back to their native villages in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar,” he said.

Jindal added that due to these holidays, even the prices of raw materials had come down. “The factories will be fully operational from November 10. The production work in the units has already come down to 40 to 50 per cent and so have the prices of raw materials,” said Jindal.

S C Ralhan, president, Hand Tool Association of Ludhiana, said the factories were observing holidays.

Some factory owners have called their workers and helpers, who have stayed back, to come to the factories tomorrow and do the Vishkarma puja by cleaning the machines.