Gujarat export units in non-containment zones to start functioning from Saturday

According to a Gujarat government official, in the first phase, factories with pending export orders will be allowed to start operations provided they are not in Covid-19 containment zones.

Exports units, which account for 25% of the country’s total exports, in non-containment zones of Gujarat will resume operations from Saturday, an official in the chief minister’s office said on Friday.

Trucks moving on a deserted highway after relaxation in lockdown for a few sectors in Ahmedabad, April 20, 2020.(ANI File)

Almost 90% of the 800 large and 453,000 small and medium factories in Gujarat have pending orders and nearly 70% are not in containment zones, officials said. About 80% of the salt and 70% of jewellery exported from India is from Gujarat.

“In the first phase, factories with pending export orders will be allowed to start operations provided they are not in Covid-19 containment zones,” Ashwani Kumar, secretary to chief minister Vijay Rupani, said.

Kumar said 98 sub-registrar offices in the state will also start working from Monday where social distancing norms will be strictly enforced.

Purvin Mariyankari, director of the Ahmedabad Export Import Development Association (AEIDA), welcomed the order and said the industry is going to suffer as there is not much demand internationally.

Mariyankari said the total exports from Gujarat in 2018-19 stood at $67,401 million.

“The export industry has already witnessed $846 million fall in exports in February 2020 as compared to the same month in 2019 because of the slowdown,” he said.

Shailesh Patwari, former president of Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), said it would be difficult to operate the industries in absence of workers.

“Mostly, migrant workers from states such as Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh work in the export units and about 70% of them have already gone back,” Patwari said.

The state government on Friday decided to lift the curfew from Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodra, the three most affected districts of the state, after 191 cases of the coronavirus disease cases were reported from Gujarat, taking the state’s tally to 2815.

“But there will still be a tight implementation of the lockdown until May 3,” Shivanand Jha, Gujarat’s director general of police, said.

The state has reported 127 Covid-19 related deaths.

Jayanti Ravi, principal secretary (health), said the situation was fast coming under control and decision has been taken to test all pregnant women in the Covid-19 hotspots areas even if they don’t any symptoms.