Industrial operations hit by exodus of migrants; most units functioning at less than half capacity

Mysuru: Relaxation of the lockdown norms may have kickstarted operations in small and medium-scale industries in some of the major industrial corridors in Mysuru. But with the government allowing inter-state travel, thousands of labourers have left the district, coupled with difficulties in commute, has impacted operations adversely.
According to sources, nearly 60,000 labourers could not reach their respective workplaces. Representatives in the Mysuru Industries Association (MIA) said that working capacity in industrial units had reduced drastically owing to lack of difficulties in transport of materials and commuting.
Joint director of District Industries Centre DK Lingaraju said that there were 16,420 industrial units, of which 14,800 had resumed operations following relaxation of lockdown norms. Around 1,68,000 of the total workforce of 2,30,000 employed across industries have returned to the district. “Officials in the department are in touch with industrialists on reopening of their units. Labourers have returned from their homes, and have assured the management that they will return to work,” said Lingaraju.
Meanwhile, around 12,000 migrant workers in Mysuru district have registered themselves to return home. Lingaraju said that this exodus from the district could impact construction and hospitality sectors, which had been hoping to resume operations soon. He said that migrant workers accounted for nearly 60% of the labour force, and their non-availability would affect the completion of several projects.
MIA president and former MLA Vasu said that restrictions on commuting and disruption in the supply chain were likely to further delay the already slow limp to normalcy in industrial operations. “Most units are not functioning at their full capacity,” he said.
Suresh Kumar Jain, MIA general secretary, said that several units were in fact functioning at around 40% of their total capacity. He attributed this condition to restrictions on movement of goods and people. “Transportation of raw materials has become an expensive affair now. Where truck drivers were demanding Rs 8,000 to Rs 9,000 to transport good from Coimbatore to Mysuru earlier, they are now asking for Rs 12,000 to Rs 13,000,” Jain added.
A Mysuru-based industrialist said that inability to settle salaries to employees for the months of April and May was among the deterrents to resumption of operations. “Owners are running out of capital, and it will not be easy to pay salaries to employees when the units reopen. They are likely to restart their factories when there is inflow of cash,” he added.
President of Builders’ Association of India’s Mysuru chapter M Rathnaraj said that nearly 30% of the migrant labourers involved in the construction sector had returned. “Those who hail from West Bengal are also keen on returning and are only waiting for a green signal from their state. Consequently, work on several under-construction apartment complexes has stopped,” he said.
Nanjangud pharmaceutical firm could resume work
Jubilant Life Sciences, the pharmaceutical company in Nanjangud that was the epicentre of India’s first ‘Covid-19’ cluster case, may resume operations in the coming week, said Nanjangud MLA B Harshvardhan. He said that the company had agreed to adopt 10 villages, and distribute ration kits to 50,000 households affected directly or indirectly by the cluster case. Mysuru district in-charge minister ST Somashekar held a discussion with the representatives of the company’s management on the measures they needed to take, Harshvardhan said.