Dollar Industries among several companies eager to start production in Bengal

Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal, several companies in West Bengal are trying to start industrial production in a phased manner from April 21 amid the ongoing lockdown.

A small section of migrant labourers works for these organised industries.

West Bengal is home to many leading hosiery companies, including Dollar Industries, a leading brand with three units in Tamil Nadu and one in Bengal.

Vinod Kumar Gupta, managing director of Kolkata-based Dollar Industries Ltd, said, “As the Prime Minister said, life and livelihood are integrally related to each other. We plan to start production from April 21 with a 25% workforce, following all safety guidelines.”

“In Tamil Nadu, we have a spinning mill as well as a stitching unit and a processing unit. All these are located in panchayat areas. We applied for permission to operate these. On Thursday, we received permission to open the spinning mill. We are waiting for the rest of the permissions,” said Gupta.

“We have around 1600 people on payroll and approximately 300 of them are in West Bengal where we have a stitching unit at Barasat in North 24 Parganas district. On Thursday, we sent an application to the local authorities. We will arrange for vehicles to ferry workers,” Gupta said.

Owner of a small surgical instrument manufacturing unit in the MSME cluster at Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district, Pradosh Roychaudhury said, “I have three permanent workers and three more who work for daily wages. I plan to start production. I have finished products lying in stock but could not deliver these to my clients because of the lockdown.”

Achyut Chandra, vice president of Eastern India Corrugated Box Manufacturers Association, said, “The West Bengal government should come up with an easier process for giving permission. We were told that the chief secretary will give clearance to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). How can people travel to the state secretariat to meet the chief secretary in the middle of a lockdown? Moreover, does a busy person like him have the time to go through every application?” said Chandra.

“Two of my clients are part of the essential services. One of them supplies surgical masks while the other ships medicines. Both need the boxes that I make at my unit at Tangra in east Kolkata,” said Chandra.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee directed the state administration on Friday to find work for migrant labourers stranded in around 700 camps across Bengal. “We will utilise whatever resources we have. There are also people who returned from other states,” Banerjee said.

On Wednesday, Banerjee said all jute industries can start production with 15% workforce and supply bags to states such as Punjab and Telangana where Rabi crop harvesting has started. Brick kilns, she said, can start with 15% workforce.

Many jute industry owners are however reluctant to start production. They argue that working with 15% of people will lead to more losses than what they suffer now. They also apprehend unrest among workers who do get jobs as trade unions are very active in the jute sector.

Farmers and tea garden workers were earlier permitted to join work as long as they maintain social distancing. Tea gardens and farm landowners hire resident labourers.

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