Lockdown: Bhiwandi powerloom units warned not to resume work

The civic body in Bhiwandi- Nizampur town in Maharashtra's Thane district on Tuesday warned powerloom units in the area not to resume operations till further orders were issued during the fourth phase of the COVID-19 lockdown.

Bhiwandi-Nizampur municipal commissioner Dr Pravin Ashtikar on Tuesday said powerloom units must wait for further orders from the authorities and defying the lockdown would attract severe action.

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In an official message circulated through deputy commissioner of police (Bhiwandi zone) Rajkumar Shinde, the civic chief said some messages were being circulated on social media that the MIDC had granted permission for powerlooms to resume work.

The government has so far not permitted industries in red zones to resume operations and reopening of industrial units here would amount to violation of the lockdown, he said.

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Bhiwandi has around 6 lakh powerloom units and at least 4 lakh workers, mostly from Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, were employed in them, said Purushottam Wanga, chairman of the Powerloom Development and Export Promotion council.

Under the present circumstances, 75 per cent of migrant workers had already left Bhiwandi to return to their home states, he said.