State to reopen jute mills gradually, maintaining social-distancing norms

Kolkata: The jute sector in the state is gradually returning to normalcy with 34 of the 53 jute mills has already started operation. The opening of the jute mills follows the decision of the Mamata Banerjee government to gradually open up all the mills maintaining social distancing norms.

There are 3 lakh people in the state whose livelihood is directly related to the functioning of the jute mills while another 40 lakh are jute farmers in the state.

A senior official in the Labour department said that the mills have opened up in almost all the districts including noted mills Premchand, Ladlo, Ambika, Bauria in Howrah, Hukumchand, Agarpara, Shyamnagar, Kelvin in North 24 Parganas, Bandel, Dalhousie, Northbrook in Hooghly, Birlapur, Budge, Cheviot in South 24 Parganas and Hooghly jute mill in Kolkata to name a few.

The district administration along with the police is keeping a hawk-eye on whether the norms of social distancing are being maintained.

"20 to 25 percent of the total strength of workers are working daily in rotation meeting the norms of social distancing. The schedule has been framed in a manner so that each worker gets to work thrice in a week in shifts. There are soaps for time to time washing of hands for the labourers and the owners have arranged for masks of each of the workers," said Dola Sen, Rajya Sabha MP who heads the trade union wing of the Trinamool Congress.

Union Textile minister Smriti Irani on April 13 had requested the state government to allow the basic minimum number of jute mills to start manufacturing or supply of jute bags for packaging of food grains of Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) to help ease procurement operations of the Government at this critical juncture. Punjab and Telangana government too had communicated stating the need for jute bags as Robi crop is being harvested.

Earlier on April 15, Secretary of the Ministry of Textiles Ravi Capoor has written to Bengal Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha requesting him to issue necessary instructions to the jute mills across the state to start operation for the production of jute bags. 70 per cent supply of jute to different parts of the country happens from the state. The mills were closed down soon after the first phase of the lockdown was announced.

The jute mills in Bengal get an annual order of 30 lakh jute bales from the Centre for jute bags to keep paddy, rice and wheat and in some cases sugar also. The state government also procures one lakh bale of jute bags for packing potatoes and vegetables. Before 2011, during the Left Front regime

vegetables were packed in nylon bags.