Ludhiana knitwear industry takes up issues with CM

29 Jun '12

3 min read

The knitwear industry in Ludhiana, a textile and hosiery industry hub in India’s Punjab state, has written to the state Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal apprising him of the problems faced by the knitwear industry and asking him to take suitable steps for boosting the industry.

The knitwear industry in Ludhiana is over one hundred years old and enjoys reverence and status of mother industry of Punjab. In spite of being the major revenue generator, the knitwear industry is facing several problems like shortage of labour, high cost of raw materials and electricity, increase in bank interest rates, etc, Knitwear Club wrote to the CM.

“The shortage of labour is impacting the production process and major centers of hosiery knitting industry are virtually in a state of collapse,” Mr. Vinod Thapar, Chairman of Knitwear Club told fibre2fashion.

“If such situation continues, the industry’s share in global textile market will be permanently taken away by competitive countries like China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Vietnam. Also, the industry would not be able to meet the robust requirements of the domestic market,” he adds.

Talking about high cost of raw materials and electricity, Mr. Thapar says, “The high cost of raw materials is the main cause for India’s knitwear industry losing advantage to its smaller neighbours.”

“The unscheduled power cuts and high cost of electricity also hamper the progress and act as an obstacle in meeting the global demands. The recent order of the state government to close the industries twice a week due to shortage of power has baffled the industry,” he avers.

In its letter to the CM, the Knitwear Club said at a time when the knitwear industry in Ludhiana is in a financial crunch, the banks have raised the interest rates and have thus created a precarious situation for the survival of the industry.

“We have requested the Chief Minister to raise the issue of high bank interest rates with the Central Government and decrease the interest rates, particularly for MSME sector,” informs Mr. Thapar.

Briefing about another issue raised in the letter to the CM, he says, “The state government is inviting large textile companies and big brands to set up their production units in Punjab with profit motive. But, it is not providing the facilities similar to those being provided in other states, which is not fair.”

“We have requested the Chief Minister to dwell on all the issues raised by us and implement effective steps for the benefit of the knitwear industry at the earliest,” Mr. Thapar said.

Knitwear Club in Ludhiana represents more than 12,000 small and medium knitwear/textile units and the Ludhiana cluster plays a major role in catering to the needs of hosiery industry.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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