[Textile is the largest sector in India after agriculture. It provides employment to hundreds of thousands of people in the country. (File Photo)]
Mumbai: Unable to re-pay the loan he had borrowed from a bank and neck-deep in debt, a powerloom weaver and grey cloth merchant in Bhiwandi - the largest textile cluster of India some fifty kms from the country's industrial hub Mumbai, committed suicide.
According to local media reports, Perveen Sadanand Saamil (46), a resident of Padmanagar area of the city hanged himself on the weekend.
The reports said that Perveen was incurring losses in the business and hence was unable to re-pay the loan. The reports said that the distressed weaver had also started consuming alcohol.
The reports further said the police has registerted a case of suicide and further investigations into the case by a team led by PSI RB Kaapdi.
This is second case of suicide in Bhiwandi since October, 2015. Ram Lal Bhikaji Choudhary of KK Textile Corporation had ended his life in similar fashion on October 25 last year.
Confirming both the cases, ex-MLA and president of local powerloom association Rashid Tahir Momin said the unfortunate deaths should work as an eye-opener for the government.
"The textile industry is facing losses since about two years now. About 40% of powerloom units are closed, Most of the weavers have become bankrupt. The situation warranted immediate intervention of the government", he said while talking to ummid.com.
Out of the total 22 lakhs powerlooms in India, Bhiwandi alone has about 7.5 lakh powerloom. Following the 10-day strike called by the local powerloom associations last year, the Textile Commissioner Office Mumbai had sent a high level delegation to Bhiwandi.
"We had met the Textile Commissioner last week. She said the Textile Commissioner Officer has already forwarded a report based on the findings of the Regional Textile Commissioner Office officials who visited the city. She further said that appropriate and suitable action on the report is expected very soon", Rashid Tahir Momin.
Momin said their key demand is the removal of anti-dumping duty on synthetic yarn.
"The prices of crude oil has come down from $140 per barrel to about $35/barrel. But, proportionate revision in the synthetic yarn prices is not done. Besides this, due to anti-dumping duty the synthetic yarn prices in India are much higher as compared to China", he said.
"The government should have imposed duty on the import of fabrics from China. Instead of this the government is imposing duty on synthetic yarn", he added.
Textile is the largest sector in India after agriculture. It provides employment to hundreds of thousands of people in the country.
Unfortunately, like the Textile sector, Agriculture sector too is going through a tough phase, and reports of farmers commiting suicide in different parts of the country is coming with regular intervals.
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