Kanpur industrialists blame centre and state govt. for decline in factories

Industrialists in Kanpur blamed the apathy and negligence by the state and central governments for the decline in the once flourishing factories of the area.

Kanpur has been the industrial hub of India for its contribution towards industrial trade.

Chairman of Dada Nagar industrial area Malik Vijay Kapoor, attributed the decline to extraordinarily high rates of electricity imposed upon them by the government.

"If you see, the electricity rates in our state are very high when compared with the rates in neighbouring states. In Uttaranchal the electricity-billing rate is half of what we have here. It prevents us from competing with other states. So the government needs to revise the rates here on the same lines as other states," said Malik.

He added that industrial growth in the province currently lags behind due to faulty industrial policies.

According to industrialists, the industrial glory of the city would not be revived unless the government does away with its policy of imposing indiscriminate taxes on industries.

Prominent industries of the city like J K Jute mills, Elgin mills, Lal Imli, Lakshmi Rattan Cotton mills located in the heart of the city have already been shutdown following management crisis.

Labourers who lost their jobs following the closure of mills in the city have been staging protests in front of factories for more than 11 years. Their demand to restart factory operations was never given ears neither by factory owners nor by government.

"Our demand is to reinstate the workers or if they are not willing to do so, we ask for compensation for those worker have worked here for twenty-thirty years," said protester and a previous worker of Elgin Mills, Ramdeen.

The closure of these mills has resulted in a huge section of the unemployed migrants from nearby villages of the province resorting to antisocial methods to earn a living.