Bhiwandi power loom owners stare at tough times ahead

Tejas Savla, 46, can see his three-decade-old family loom crumbling due to lack of business amid the lockdown in view of Covid-19 pandemic. Savla had to shut shop

Tejas Savla, 46, can see his three-decade-old family loom crumbling due to lack of business amid the lockdown in view of Covid-19 pandemic. Savla had to shut shop as instead of profit he ended up with expenses to maintain the loom and he sees no other option but to sell the business to earn some money for sustenance. Savla is merely one of the thousands of loom owners affected by the lockdown.

HT Image

While the state government eased lockdown norms and allowed power looms to open from June 8, the Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNCMC) went into a lockdown again on June 18. Looms, which saw a ray of hope at the start of June, had to close once again. Many have lost their livelihood and are reeling under financial distress. They are now looking for some subsidies in power from the government to stay afloat.

Savla, a resident of Kalyan, said, “There has been a slump in demand since the past few years, and we have reduced the number of machinery as we were not able to bear the expenses. However, the lockdown has taken a complete toll on profits. We are unable to match the expenses for maintenance and rentals. We might have to shut shop to avoid getting debts. Selling everything will hopefully help us earn some money for survival.”

Bhiwandi, a small town around 30kms from Mumbai, is known as a power loom hub with more than one lakh small and big power loom factories. Some of the factory owners are facing huge losses that would take around two years to make up; while a few others plan to shut shop.

Despite the municipal corporation allowing around 30,000 power looms in non-containment zones to open up, hardly 2,000 opened up for a few days last month due to dearth in demand.

Yusuf Hasan, president of Powerloom Federation, said, “There is a huge drop in demand which is a big reason for the slump in business. Moreover, since the past three months none of the power loom owners have manufactured anything. Power companies or the government has not given any concession to industries while we continue to pay huge tariffs despite our factories remaining shut. There needs to be some relief for power loom companies in such times.”

Lack of manpower, funds, materials and difficulty in transportation are few of the reasons that are making loom owners sceptical to reopen business.

Jivraj Nagariya, a power loom owner from Bhiwandi, said, “On an average, for 20 machines we need a minimum of 10 people for operations, testing and maintenance related work. However, most of the men were migrant labourers who have moved to their hometowns. Some have returned but most of them are scared to come back in such a situation. With hardly 30% production, we cannot make ends meet. For the revival of these factories and for us to get as much business as before, it will take at least another two years. This will leave a huge impact on smaller factories.”

Meanwhile, with only a few days of the lockdown left in Bhiwandi, the municipal corporation hopes to allow some power looms to start functioning. “We are still contemplating on the move. We may allow some of the factories in industrial areas to reopen soon; however, this depends on the spread of the virus in these areas,” said an official from BNCMC.

With no clarity on ease in restrictions, loom owners say the future looks bleak for the industry.