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

Kolkata, Apr 27 () The Indian Jute MillsAssociation (IJMA) on Monday wrote to West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee, seeking her intervention to resumeproduction at all the units in the state and save the industrywhich remains "virtually non-operational for a month" due tothe ongoing lockdown.

Of around 60 mills in the state, "only 7-8 hadreceived approval" from the government to resume productionwith 35-50 workers during the ongoing lockdown, making theseunits "unviable to operate" as they are currently running atless than five per cent of their capacities, an official ofthe industry body said.

These units got approval after the Centre hadrequested the state government to allow all mills to operatebut in strict adherence to health safety norms, he said.

"At present the jute industry is in deep crisis withover one month of being in the lockdown. Jute packaging forfoodgrains has been diverted to plastic industry as 6.5 lakhbales of jute bag order has been diluted," IJMA chairmanRaghav Gupta said in his letter to Banerjee.

He also said, "If it continues, it will kill the juteindustry of West Bengal which provides a livelihood to over 35lakh 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 itsmembers are facing.

"Only a handful of mills have been permitted to reopenand that too with a strength of 30 to 50 workmen. This isuntenable and unviable for operations," IJMA said in itsletter to the chief secretary.

The price for procuring jute bags is determined inaccordance with a formula approved by the Ministry of Textileson the basis of recommendations of the Tariff Commission.

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

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