15 pulse mills down shutters as workers shift to NREGS

As many as 15 pulse mills in Kanpur have shut shop as workers have found the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme(NREGS) better than sweating it out at such units.

Millers say people are reluctant to work in such units despite being offered as much as Rs 200 a day as wages. On top of that, scarcity of power and raw materials have added to their woes.

"The closure of pulse mills in Kanpur is triggered by the shortage of labour and the NREGS has created this problem. Already, 15 mills have shut shop while many more are on the verge of closure," said Kanpur Dal Millers Association Patron Pramod Jayaswal, who is also the owner of some mills.

"Why should a labourer go to work in such mills, situated far away from his home, when he can get Rs 100 a day working near his own house under the NREGS?" he asked.

A mill which once had an output of 500 quintals of pulses a day, now manages to produce only 200 quintals.

Kanpur accounts for 164 large pulse mills out of about 500 in Uttar Pradesh. These apart, the city is also home to about 200 small pulse mills, Jayaswal said.

The NREGS apart, frequent power cuts in Uttar Pradesh, coupled with the economic slowdown, have added to millers' problems, the association's General Secretary, Tarun Jain, said.

Uttar Pradesh is a prominent pulse-producing state.