Coronavirus Lockdown: Economic activity resumes partly in Tamil Nadu; more in the coming days

After being shut for nearly 45 days, factories, and companies in parts of Tamil Nadu upped their shutters on Wednesday following the state government's directive to restart economic activity in “non-containment zones.”

Two-wheeler manufacturer TVS Motor Company said it has resumed its operation from its plant in Hosur near Bengaluru, while nearly 1,000 knitwear exporters in Tiruppur and MSMEs in rural areas across the state. However, MSMEs and factories in Chennai and Coimbatore did not resume operation due to government restrictions.

CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH

C Babu of the Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association (TANSTIA) and R Ramamurthy, President of the influential Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (CODISSIA), told DH that none of the companies in Industrial Estates in Chennai and located within the limits of Coimbatore Corporation were allowed to open as both cities are in the Red Zone.

Though the government said it would allow industries located in SEZs and Industrial Estates outside the city limits from Wednesday, to function with 50 percent of its staff, entrepreneurs said seeking necessary permission from the competent authority, District Collectors in most cases, was delaying the process.

In Sivakasi, the fireworks’ hub of the country, factories are waiting for permission from the Virudhunagar District Collector to restart operations, a fireworks’ manufacturer said.

For latest updates and live news on coronavirus, click here

Hyundai India, which had announced that it would reopen its Irungattukottai plant near here for “preparatory operations” could not do so due to delay in paper works. However, the company said it was working towards resuming operations at the earliest.

Many entrepreneurs who opened their factories and manufacturing units on Wednesday said it would take another few days for them to launch production as cleaning up the premises would take several days. Also, the availability of labour in another problem that MSMEs and factories that depend on casual labourers are encountering.

“It is not like you press the switch and the fan starts running. Since the factories were shut for over 45 days, it would need a lot of effort to get them running. And there are several stages that we need to cross before going to the production stage,” K E Raghunathan, past president of All India Manufacturers’ Organisation (AIMO), told DH.

Raja M Shanmugham of the Tiruppur Exporters’ Association (TEA) said only 20 to 25 percent of the workforce reported to duty on Wednesday and hoped things would stabilize in the days to come.

“The apparel market has reopened, and we need to race against time to keep up our position. And reopening of the factories has given us hope that we can stand on our feet again. We want the government to come with an economic package,” he told DH.

Ramamurthy, CODISSIA President, hoped that they will be allowed to open their factories after May 17, when the third phase of the lockdown ends, so that the full economic activity can resume. “It is just a start. Only when cities open up, we can say that economic activity has resumed. And for companies to start the activity, they need government’s help,” he said.