Tikri blockade costs Bahadurgarh industry dear

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Jhajjar, November 20

Large, medium and small-scale industries in the town have suffered a loss to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore in the past one year due to the Tikri blockade during to the ongoing farmers’ movement. This was revealed by the Bahadurgarh Chamber of Commerce and Industries (BCCI).

Moreover, many factories were shut down while many more have also reached on the verge of closure.

“Located on the Haryana-Delhi border, Bahadurgarh has around 9,000 companies and factories, including footwear, automobile, spare parts, packing and industrial manufacturing etc, which collectively provides livelihood to over 7.5 lakh people directly and indirectly. Most of the industries are situated near the Tikri border,” said Narinder Chhikara, senior vice-president, BCCI.

“Over 100 factories being run on rent by industrialists from outside Bahadurgarh faced closure due to heavy losses, he added.

“All vehicles carrying raw material from Delhi or elsewhere have to take a detour, leading to the escalation of the input cost to at least 300 to 400 per cent. With no alternative road in good condition, the arrival of all vehicles also gets delayed. A significant number of employees/workers and factory owners daily travel to Bahadurgarh from Delhi,” Chhikara added.

Subhash Jagga, general secretary, Footwear Park Association, Bahadurgarh, said the town was the hub of such products but the Tikri blockade had took a toll on the exports. “Bahadurgarh industries used to export a huge quantity of footwear to Africa earlier but the demand dropped this year due to the high cost of products as compared to Delhi and other states,” Jagga added.

Meanwhile, Gulshan Dang, state president, Rashtriya Jan Udyog Beopar Sangathan, said the PM’s announcement about the repealing of the three farm laws had come as a big relief for the industrialists and traders, who were now hoping for the complete opening of the Delhi borders soon.