Lockdown: IJMA seeks Mamata's intervention to resume operation at all jute mills

The Indian Jute Mills

Association (IJMA) on Monday wrote to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, seeking her intervention to resume production at all the units in the state and save the industry which remains "virtually non-operational for a month" due to the ongoing lockdown.

Of around 60 mills in the state, "only 7-8 had received approval" from the government to resume production with 35-50 workers during the ongoing lockdown, making these units "unviable to operate" as they are currently running at less than five per cent of their capacities, an official of the industry body said.

These units got approval after the Centre had requested the state government to allow all mills to operate but in strict adherence to health safety norms, he said.

 

"At present the jute industry is in deep crisis with over one month of being in the lockdown. Jute packaging for foodgrains has been diverted to plastic industry as 6.5 lakh bales of jute bag order has been diluted," IJMA chairman Raghav Gupta said in his letter to Banerjee.

He also said, "If it continues, it will kill the jute industry of West Bengal which provides a livelihood to over 35 lakh farmers and 2.5 lakh mill workers in the state."

In a separate letter to Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha, the mill owners' body has requested him to make all the units "fully operational" and explained the situation that its members are facing.

"Only a handful of mills have been permitted to reopen and that too with a strength of 30 to 50 workmen. This is untenable and unviable for operations," IJMA said in its letter to the chief secretary.

The price for procuring jute bags is determined in accordance with a formula approved by the Ministry of Textiles on the basis of recommendations of the Tariff Commission.

"The price that is so fixed is essentially on the basis of operation of jute mills at 85 per cent capacity utilisation," the IJMA claimed.

"With 30-50 workmen, a jute mill with capacity of 80 -100 MT production capacity per day will be able to function at only 2 to 3 per cent... This is apart from the fact that with only 30 to 50 workmen, it is almost impossible to run all the phases of manufacturing processes of jute bags in a mill," the industry body said.