Ichalkaranji Textile Sizing Units Warn Of Going On Strike

Textile sizing unit owners of Ichalkaranji have warned that they will go an indefinite strike due to pressure from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB).

Textile sizing unit owners of Ichalkaranji have alleged that the pressure from MPCB will leave no alternative but to shutdown their operations.

At a meeting organised by the local textile sizing association, stakeholders claimed that MPCB is unfairly targeting them, while turning a blind eye to other industrial entities discharging untreated sewage daily.

“The MPCB is issuing shutdown notices to us for not installing bio-digesters to treat effluents, despite previously advising us to purchase land and install the treatment systems ourselves,” Jayant Marathe, President of the association said.

“High costs and logistical hurdles involved in self-managing bio-digesters are prohibitive for most sizing unit owners,” Marathe was quoted by ToI as saying.

Marathe warned that that if the regulatory pressure persists, the textile hub’s 150 textile sizing factories, which collectively employ nearly 4,500 workers, will go on an indefinite strike.

Such a move could have a massive impact on Ichalkaranji’s massive weaving industry, which depends on sized beams for their operations.