Surat textile markets get nod to open with riders

SURAT: If all goes well, the man-made fabric (MMF) wholesale market may resume operations from June 1.
In a bid to restart the Rs 50,000 crore MMF textile chain the Surat municipal commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani and senior health officials visited the textile markets located in Limbayat on Ring Road on Tuesday. The Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) had earlier refused to give permission for the market to reopen as 95% of them fall in the red zone.
Market sources said that the civic chief and senior health officers instructed the traders to start the disinfection of all the market. However, markets located near the residential areas in the red zone won’t be allowed to open.
Secretary of Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association (FOSTTA), Champalal Bothra said, “Barring a few markets located in the vicinity of the residential area, majority of the markets could reopen as per the directions given by the SMC from June 1.”
Earlier, FOSTTA had urged chief minister Vijay Rupani to allow the markets to reopen for few hours to facilitate the traders with works related to GST, Income Tax, accounts and outstanding payments.
“At present, less than 15% of the textile industry has reopen as majority of the textile markets are closed. Traders play an important role in the smooth running of the MMF sector. Once markets reopen, other verticals including powerloom, textile processing and embroidery would start functioning,” said Bothra.
Deputy municipal commissioner (health and hospital), Dr Ashish Naik said, “All standard operating procedure (SOP) will have to be followed at the textile markets to contain the spread of coronavirus.”
Manoj Agarwal, president of FOSTTA said, “The MMF market is facing loss of Rs 10,000 crore due to lockdown. It may take another couple of months to get back on track.”