Industrialists seek to make e-pass process simple

Coimbatore: Industrialists in the city said they were unable to travel to other districts for business purposes as they were not being issued e-passes.
Pointing out that they were issued e-passes through the district industries centre (DIC) for inter-district travel in the initial stages of the lockdown, they said that has stopped.
Micro and small industrialists said they had to travel across the state for fitting machines, attending to problems and collecting payments. “Industrial units are making and selling several machines, including pumps and motors, which need fitting and maintenance. It is essential for us to travel to other districts,” said J James, district president, Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Tiny Enterprises. “While we are allowed to function, we are not allowed to travel for business purposes. This is as good as not allowing us to function,” he said.
G Krithiha, an industrialist, expressed a similar view. “Recently, I got a call from a client in Erode, asking us to visit them for a post-sales service. I had to ask them to arrange people locally, as we couldn’t travel. Industries also can’t stop operations due to a faulty machine.”
Presently, the e-pass procedure is complicated and it has to be approved by the administration officials of the destination district, she said. “Officials here would approve our e-pass requests. But officials in other districts won’t.”
Industrialists had taken up the issue with the district administration officials and sought to issue e-passes through DIC while making the process simple. tnn