The textile industry of India, especially Gujrat, is suffering badly from the current spike of COVID-19 cases in the country. The Federation of Gujarat Weavers Association (FOGWA) told the media that fabric production has currently declined by around 22 percent compared to March 2021.
The Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and the Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association (FOSTTA) have requested the state chief minister Vijay Rupani to impose a complete lockdown of at least one week. According to these trade bodies, the voluntary 2-day lockdown on weekends is not enough to break the chain of the coronavirus.
Restriction of working hours, migration of workers, and textile traders testing positive factors adversely affect textile production and trade in the manmade textile hub.
Though the government is yet to announce a full-fledged lockdown, several workers migrate from Surat due to the fear that it might be imposed.
As a result, workers’ strength in factories has gone down by 25-30 percent.
Ashok Jirawala, the president of the FOGWA, said, “In the last one-and-a-half months, the fabric production has been reduced by one crore meter per day. Usually, we produced 4.5 crore meters daily. Workers are still leaving. In the coming days, more workers are expected to leave.
If the current COVID-19 situation continues then, we will clock huge losses.”
