Industry ready to resume operation to plug exodus

Shivani Bhakoo

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, March 30

Some industrial houses here are ready to resume operations and claim that they will take care of labourers, but on one condition: in case any labourer gets infected with Covid, they should not be held accountable.

A few industrialists, who have the raw material, want to restart the production to meet their pending orders. They are more than willing to help the labourers — be it with food, medicines or shelter.

They say they also need the labour for maintaining their expensive machinery.

Rahul Ahuja, president, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Punjab, said, “The state government has not made it mandatory for the industry to resume operations. If some industrialists restart the production, they will ensure good care of their labourers though it will not be profitable to run units with a handful of workers. But we will be able to stop the exodus of labourers. Many businessmen have written to the Director, Industries, in this regard.”

Anil Gupta from Regal Plastics said he had 32 rooms in three units where 50 to 60 workers could be accomodated.

“I have the raw material and I want to run my unit. But I am scared because if any labourer falls sick, the government will take me to task. If I am taking all precautions and the authorities are conducting random checking regularly to ensure social distancing and hygiene, I should not be held accountable for any mishap. A labourer can be infected with Covid at their dinghy accommodations,” he said.

The industrialists said labourers could be shifted from their dinghy accommodations to factories and, hence, they would be quarantined and at the same time resume work.

Ensure coal supply, demand kiln owners

• To keep 2,700 brick-kilns in the state operational to prevent exodus of migrants, the government will have to arrange stock of coal, say owners
• The supply of coal from other states is stuck due to the lockdown. Each kiln requires nearly 4 tonnes of coal every day, says Surinder Singla, owner of a kiln in Ludhiana
• Parveen Jindal, general secretary, Punjab Brick Kiln Association, says besides the depleting stock of coal, the owners are also worried about the shortage of labour