Union Knopf (India)

CoverStory
Ajay Chopra from
AC Enterprises
“ 50% bookings have gone down and as
long as money flow does not take place
consumer demand would remain low,
forcing the manufacturers to cut on
production.”
Deepak Gupta, Proprietor
of Mansa traders, a Delhi based
distributor.
due to demonetisation. This has led to
the closure of 80 per cent of the textile
processing units, weavers forced to
operate eight hours a day and almost
90 per cent embroidery and knitting
units closed.”
Tough times have already began
for those who have not got organized
set ups and the only solution for them
is to change their ways of operations.
Few factories in Delhi and Mumbai
have already shut down post currency
ban. In the long -run this step may
yield positive results, but at the
moment, things are tough.
Seasonal and temporary workers of
the textile industry may well be the
biggest casualty of Demonetisation as
they rarely have bank accounts and are
paid in cash. These workers who work
on daily wages are facing immense
pressure due to cash crunch and
unemployment.
The timing of Demonetisation has
also affected the knitted sector of
Ludhiana as this is the timing they get
paid for the hardwork they put in for
entire year. Krishan Kumar Sharma,
President of the Amritsar Textile
Processor Association confirmed the
closure of 30 units and said that the
rest of the units are running 25-30%
below capacity. Sharma said that it
has become impossible for them to
manage work in the absence of cash.
The association is demanding that
Government should ensure adequate
cash supply in the banks and ease
restrictions on withdrawal of money
from savings and current bank.
I.P. Mahajan, general secretary of
Punjab Textile Manufacturers
Association claimed that the weaving
industry in Punjab has seen over 50%
retrenchment of labour since
Demonetisation. Mahajan also claimed
that most of the factory owners are
finding it difficult to pay wages to
employees as cash withdrawals are
restricted. The city has a large number
“ The impact of demonitisation will not
be much as our industry is a need based
industry and people do require clothes
as a necessity. The biggest problem is the
cash crunch especially when it comes to
paying the labour as many of them do
not have bank accounts and they require
cash payment to meet their daily needs.
The slowdown in market will continue
for at least six months.”
14
January 2017 APPAREL&Fashion