‘Jute sector crisis may give edge to TMC in Bengal LS polls’

Kolkata: Lower government demand against the annual projections of jute bags resulting in a short-term instability in mills’ operations and curtailment of the labour force may cast a shadow on the BJP’s poll fortune in the jute belt of Bengal, a major producer of the golden fibre, industry stakeholders said.

Despite an increase in minimum support price for raw material and no dilution of the norm of 100 per cent food grain packaging in jute bags by the Centre, the temporary order crisis ahead of the elections may give an edge to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the electoral battle, as the ruling party in the state is making the wage revision by mills in January a poll plank to galvanise support among labourers, they said. Mills in Bengal directly employ about 2.5 lakh workers, while 40 lakh farmers are engaged in producing the raw material in the state, and political parties are reaching out to them to secure their support in the jute belt comprising parts of several Lok Sabha constituencies in Hooghly, North 24-Parganas and Howrah districts.

“Mills have already started curtailing production by 10-15 per cent and this is expected to worsen further to 20-25 per cent. Some units are operating four to five days a week to match output with actual demand. Mills produce jute bags based on projections.

“In the current Rabi crop season, the government procurement for jute bags for food grains has been lower by 3.5 lakh bales as compared to projections given by the government at the beginning of the season,” Indian Jute Mills Association chairman Raghav Gupta told a news agency.

Apart from production cuts, there are reports of mill closure and the main cause is a lack of government demand for jute bags, he said.

At least one mill, Syamnuggur Jute Factory in Hooghly, has recently issued a suspension of work notice, citing labour-related problems, and hundreds of workers became jobless, an industry veteran said on condition of anonymity.