Industry, shops bear losses worth Rs 1,400 cr: Beopar Mandal

The Punjab Bandh call given by farmer unions in the state evoked a mixed response from the industry and shopkeepers in the city. But it hit the industry in a big way. Industrial organisations and the Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal said the industry (including shops, factories and business establishments) incurred losses to the tune of about Rs 1,400 crore in a single day as no raw material could be purchased and finished products could not be sent due to road blockades, funds in banks could not be rotated and there was no footfall of customers also due to the protest.

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Normal life crippled

On the call given by the farmers, a few markets, schools and colleges remained shut. The routine work was hit in the morning as residents, at many places, could not get regular supply of milk and vegetables. Congested markets and roads in the city, which remain crowded, looked deserted.

Markets, which, remain shut on Mondays, were closed, including AC Market, Bhadaur House and Mata Rani Chowk.

This time, businessmen refused to close factories on the call of Punjab Bandh. Badish Jindal, president, FOPSIA, termed it as a “new kind of terrorism” where the industry and the traders are being deprived of their right to business and the state government becomes a “mute spectator”.

President of the Association of Trade and Industrial Undertakings (ATIU) Pankaj Sharma said everything comes to a halt due to such bandhs. “There is no transportation, we cannot purchase raw materials, stocks are not sent to respective destinations and funds cannot be rotated by the industry during such bandh calls. Big corporate houses are not investing a single penny in the state and it is not noticed by the government. Bandhs have simply ruined the state industry,” he said.

Ayush Aggarwal, state secretary, Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal, said for how long would the government allow such kind of nuisance in the state? State general secretary and member of the National Traders’ Welfare Board Sunil Mehra and state secretary Ayush Aggarwal said due to anti-business policies of the new state government, over 1 lakh business units had relocated from the state and investments exceeding Rs 3 lakh crore have moved out of Punjab.

The previous farmer’s protest resulted in losses of over Rs 5 lakh crore to the state business community and Ludhiana alone, being the industrial and commercial hub, suffered losses exceeding Rs 1 lakh crore.

Punjab’s traders have started losing ground at international and national level. “On Monday, the farmers’ protest has again brought life in the state to a standstill. Ludhiana’s industrial units have suffered losses due to blocked roads, halted trains and closed borders,” Aggarwal said.