Factory reset: Okhla MSMEs limp back, garment units still ailing

Export logistics are troubling many industries. While some are facing container shortages, others are looking at increased freight costs in key markets

A year ago, the Covid-induced lockdown had a severe impact on the factories in Delhi’s Okhla industrial area. Barring those catering to essential services, all other factories were shut, many labourers fled to their hometowns, and those who remained were left without any salary or the assurance of retaining their jobs.

But the days of empty roads, dusty, vacant trucks and desolate labour colonies are now over, and the Okhla industrial area is back in action. The roads are lined with freight carriers, crowds throng the street food vendors, and the hum of the factories is back.

According to the