HMT resumes operations to make last batch of watches

The Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) factory in Ranibagh, which has been shut since the last two years, will resume to work from Friday in order to complete its pending order of watches estimated to be worth Rs 1.5 crore.

In a media interview, an official from HMT's Haldwani management said, "We had received orders for 5,500 watches from our Bengaluru office in December. We have to complete the order by March 2016.

He added that the factory may subsequently be transformed into an ordinance unit and will not function as an HMT arm after the pending orders are finished. This follows a decision of the central government to close all HMT units nationwide.

Employees are nevertheless celebrating what may be only a short lease of life for the HMT unit. This is a big step towards the factory's reincarnation, said an employee of HMT, who has been working in the factory since 1986.

The factory is spread over an area of over 91 acres and has more than 500 machines. It also has residential quarters for almost 300 employees.