Dhariwal Woollen Mills dying a slow death

Ravi Dhaliwal

Dhariwal (Gurdaspur), March 5

With the Union Textiles Ministry putting on hold for the past 50 months the salaries of 160 employees of the once world-famous Dhariwal Woollen Mills, questions are being raised whether the factory will be revived or allowed to die a natural death.

Staff go without salary for 50 months

• The rot started in 1991, but it became more pronounced from 2010 onwards when the Union Textiles Ministry squeezed its funding
• The mill, which once employed over 3,500 workers who worked in three shifts every day, is now on the verge of being shut down
• It’s employees have not got their salaries for the past 50 months
• Officials say they do not see any logic in pumping in money in a unit that has outlived its utility

The mill, which once employed over 3,500 workers who worked in three shifts every day, is now on the verge of being shut down.

Ministry officials say they do not see any logic in pumping in money in a unit that has outlived its utility.

Until 1991, when it was nationalised, the factory, spread on hundreds of acres, produced the country’s best woollen clothes. The Army and paramilitary forces were its bulk buyers.

However, being a government entity, it floundered. On the other hand, several private mills, having sophisticated infrastructure and disciplined work culture, came up in the area and flourished.

“My Fair Lady”, “President” and “Angola” were the brands that had catapulted Dhariwal Woollen Mills to dizzying heights. Old timers say the mill was not just a mill. It was “a work in progress” with an entire township (Dhariwal) thriving on that.

The rot started setting in from 1991, but it became more pronounced from 2010 when, for some inexplicable reason, the Union Textiles Ministry further squeezed whatever funding it was doing.

Governor Banwarilal Purohit recently showed interest in its revival. Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal has also written to the Principal Secretary (Planning).

Former finishing master-cum-store-and-purchase officer DR Sharma, who retired after putting in 37 years of service, says some private players like Raymond had evinced interest in buying the mill, but they retreated fearing bureaucratic hurdles.

With its closure being imminent, people in Dhariwal, a city, which has grown up around the factory, often get emotional. “The myopic vision of the Union Government has killed the goose that laid the golden eggs. We are crippled from inside,” said Baljeet Singh, a local resident.