The last few days have been tough for the industries in Ludhiana, especially the hosiery industry.
The couple of unrelated incidents that took place in Ludhiana on Friday and Saturday, that led to curfew being imposed in the city, have affected every industry alike but hosiery units might have seen the major impact.
The hosiery unit owners maintained that the current season was considered a peak season for the hosiery industry since demand for woolens generally moved up in November and December. According to the industrialists the losses for the hosiery industry could be in crores.
The relevance of hosiery industry in Ludhiana could be gauged from the fact that 90% demand of woolen market in India is fed by Ludhiana industry.
Talking to Business Standard, Vinod Thapar, President Knitwear club Ludhiana maintained that last few days has really been callous for the hosiery industry of Ludhiana.
The months of November and December are peak season for the woolen industry as demand for woolen usually pent up during these months. However with curfew being clamped in city since last few days not only has it affected the production but also hit the industry quiet badly.
Thapar added to add to the miseries for hosiery industry ‘exodus’ of the migrant labour has also been observed that could adversely impact the industry in coming times.
Charanjit Singh, Secretary of the Knitwear club maintained that for units who have been catering to the domestic demand the last few days have been nightmare. He added that usually buyers from different parts come to Ludhiana to purchase the stock of woolen on weekends i.e. Saturday and Sunday but the volatile situation in the city inflicted huge losses for the hosiery units. He added that the woolen hosiery products were seasonal one and incidents like this would not augur well for the industry.
Narinder Miglani General Secretary, Knitwear Club also maintained that the present problem has added to woes of hosiery industry in Ludhiana that already was grappling with issues like availability of adequate and quality infrastructure and uninterrupted power supply .
He added that hosiery units both dealing with the domestic market as well as export market has suffered because of these unforeseen events.
