Loan-hit textile mill producers of Tirupur seek govt help

The textile manufacturers Tirupur, who are reeling under debts due to high manufacturing costs and the shutdown of the dyeing industry, have approached the union government to restructure their loans that totals to around Rs 2,000 crore.

A Sakthivel, president of Tirupur Exporters’ Association, said the body had written to commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma, who is also holding the additional portfolio of textile, to restructure the loans. The issue is expected to be discussed at an inter ministerial meeting is scheduled for Wednesday.

The industry has seen a spate of legal issues after the Madras High Court had, earlier this year, asked all the dyeing units in the state’s east-central city, to shut down. A bench observed that the dyeing units were polluting and causing irreparable damage to the Noyyal river that runs through Tirupur.

Now, the industry has asked the government to postpone the repayment of loans from two to three years. It has also asked for a one-year moratorium and interest holiday, Sakthivel added. The Tirupur textile industry reported a loss of around Rs 3,500 crore during the current fiscal, as there is massive close-down of dyeing units in the city.