Cong to hold rally to address problems of handloom workers in Bhiwandi

Congress party to hold rally in Bhiwandi for power loom and handloom workers. Industry facing challenges due to lack of incentives and high electricity rates. Congress leaders expected to announce incentives if elected to power.

Mumbai: The Congress party is set to hold a rally to raise various issues faced by the power loom and handloom workers in Bhiwandi, which is considered the party’s traditional vote bank. The national president of Congress Mallikarjun Kharge, party’s Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi along with other state leaders are holding a rally on October 6 on the issue.

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Bhiwandi, Malegaon, and Solapur are among the traditional small-scale handloom and power loom industries majorly dominated by Muslim artisans and workers. The power loom industry in these cities is facing challenges of survival with depleting numbers of units every year. The Congress has decided to amplify their issues to bring justice to the workers.

“Owing to the absence of incentives and policies by the state and central government, the units have been finding it difficult to survive. More and more units are shutting their doors every day. The central government has announced a new textile policy but it has not yet been implemented and the old one has been scrapped. This has made it difficult for the units to get incentives and subsidies leading to the financial burden. The electricity rate for this small-scale industry is too high compared to other states,” said district Congress president and former local MLA Abdul Rashid Tahir Momin.

Bhiwandi has over half a million power loom units, the number which was more than 8 lakh till a few years ago. Congress leaders are expected to announce incentives to the loom industry if elected to power.

“The Manmohan Singh government in 2004 gave relief to the power loom industry from the duty imposed by the early Vajpayee government in 2003. We expect a similar decision. State unit chief of the party Nana Patole held a meeting with us for the preparation of the rally. Though Khargeji has not given a final confirmation as yet, other leaders, including Pratapgarhi will attend it,” said Rashid Tahir Momin.