Entrepreneurs and Industrialists from the Tikri-Bahadurgarh region, where farmers are protesting on Delhi- Rohtak road, are claiming that their business has been affected because raw materials and finished goods are not getting transported in and out.
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Freight carrier firms and factory owners from the Tikri-Bahadurgarh border have been claiming that ongoing protest by the farmers has a huge impact on their business as they have been incurring losses. Owing to traffic jams at the protest site, trucks have been taking alternative routes, leading to postponements.
Sandeep ( 32) a traffic operations manager from caravan Roadways Ltd, which transports PVC from the Kandla and Mundra ports of Gujarat, said, ”it is taking a long time for trucks to reach their destinations because of traffic on the KMP Expressway.
Director of Speed Wings Logistics PVT Ltd, Varun Sharma (31) said, “The NH-8, UP-Haryana borders are closed too, so trucks have had to re-route through the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) or Western Peripheral Expressway around Delhi. There was a truck that was stuck on the KMP for three days.”
Rampal Singh (42), manager at the ATC Logistical Solutions PVT Ltd, stated, “Our customers from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and J&K are not coming at all, and we are not sending any trucks due to the uncertainty.”
Umesh Pandey (50), general manager of Vijay Lakshmi Transolutions PVT Ltd, asserted, “We have stopped operations in the Punjab-Haryana side where routes are blocked and are transporting only emergency goods (food and pharmaceuticals), for which we take alternative routes.”
Nikhil Lalit (38), who manufactures shoes, said, “Raw material — cloth, rubber, packaging – has stopped coming from Delhi and is steadily getting over”. He further added, “Delhi is the first stop and from there our products go to various areas. Business is down to half and we may need to close the factory if the protest goes on for another week,” .However, he supports the peaceful protest of the farmers and added, “I have not read the farm bills so I cannot comment on it. However, they have been protesting quietly — no damage to property or anything. I am not against that; I am with the farmers.”
An owner of a packaging factory, Amar Varma(59) , said, “We used to send finished products to Delhi daily; now we are only sending it to local areas here. Raw material is not arriving from UP.”
Further, he added that he is against such a type of stirring: “This is not a protest, it is blackmail. A protest is not supposed to interfere with someone else’s work.”
However, contrary to all these claims, Pradeep Singhal, chairperson of the All-India Transporters’ Welfare Association, said, “The supply chain has not broken down and there is no shortage Delhi is facing as many trucks are taking detours due to which some delay is inevitable. There has not been much impact.” Clearly, he projected the other side of the story and asserted that everything is under control.
Subhash Jagga (65), general secretary of the Bahadurgarh Chamber of Commerce & Industry, said, “This is the peak season for footwear, but raw material is not coming in, nor are finished goods able to go out of the area. Production has reduced by around 60%. Transporters are not sending trucks due to the fear and uncertainty of a clear passage.” According to him, laborers are also finding it difficult to arrive from Mundka, and that many hailing from UP and Bihar are leaving, due to uncertainty. “I support the farmers but I wish the issue gets resolved soon,” he said.
Arvind Kumar (18), a laborer at a shoe factory and belonging to UP’s Shahjahanpur district, was among those returning home:
“Since the protests, work here has reduced, that’s why I am going back.” Ram Kishore (22), who works at a factory in the area and is from UP’s Farrukhabad, said: “I got here a few days ago and I am heading back again. There is a hartal every time — what is the point of staying back?”
We all know how important the protest is for farmers but we can not overlook the issues faced by such local industrialists and laborers. By taking into account these problems, its related issues can be resolved easily by the people concerned.
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