Malegaon: An ambitious and keen Textile Commissioner in office and unprecedented efforts by her subordinates notwithstanding, Malegaon – one of the biggest textile clusters of the country has so far failed in installing a single In-Setu kit even after more than a year of its launch especially for the city.
[The site where the demo kit was installed by the Ministry of Textiles on March 05, 2014. (Photo: Aleem Faizee/Times of India)]
Though various reasons are cited for this unfortunate failure of an important scheme which was supposed to be a milestone for the cluster lagging behind other textile clusters in terms of modernization, the 'burnt' demonstration kit and 'unwilling' suppliers are said to have imparted irreparable damage to the success of the scheme at least as of now.
"We had placed orders for the In-Setu kits with a supplier in Bhiwandi and were waiting for installation. After dilly-dallying for over two weeks, the supplier refused to install the kits", Nazeer Ahmed, Director of Dilip Fabrics, said.
He said when he wanted to know the reason for his refusal to supply the material he had already promised to deliver, the supplier after much persuasion revealed that a 'person' from Malegaon who was 'flaunting his proximity' with senior officers at the Textile Commissioner Office in Mumbai had called up and said he should not go ahead with the installation.
"It was literally shocking for us as we were ready to pay for the kits in advance", Nazeer Ahmed said.
In October 2013, the central government had approved Rs 150 crore to be spent in six textile clusters, including Malegaon and Nagpur, under the In-Setu scheme for the next five years. The scheme involves an upgradation kit worth Rs 30,000 to be attached with plain powerlooms to improve the quality of fabrics. The central government had agreed to provide 50% cost of the upgradation kit. The Maharashtra government had later agreed to provide a grant of Rs 10,000 per powerloom under this scheme.
In order to explain to the weavers the advantages of the kit, the ministry had also installed a kit for demonstration purpose in a textile unit in Malegan on March 05, 2014. The Powerloom Service Centre (PSC) however a few days back found that the kit was 'burnt' and removed from the powerloom.
"I am told by my staff that the kit was burnt due to short circuit", Nilay Pandiya, the In-Charge of the Malegaon PSC, said on enquiry.
A visit to the demo site however revealed that someone accompanied by an officer working at the Malegaon PSC had uninstalled the demo kit and taken away with him.
"Someone accompanied by an officer working at Malegaon PSC had come here few months back, uninstalled the kit and took away with him", the manager of the textile unit where the demo kit was installed said.
"He came back after few weeks, this time not with the said officer, and installed the kit again. As soon as he turned the loom on, there was a burst and the kit was in flames", he added.
Interestingly, the 'burnt' demo kit and unwillingness of the suppliers to come to Malegaon were also part of the discussion when a technical officer from Mumbai visited Malegaon on February 12 for appraisal of the In-Setu scheme.
Requesting not to be named, the technical officer said someone from Malegaon for the reasons best known to him is creating hurdles and trying to sabotage the successful implementation of the scheme in Malegaon.
"A good progress on successful implementation of the scheme is seen in Ichalkiranji, Bhiwandi, Nagpur and even in Sholapur. We are trying our best. Commissioner Ms Soni Gupta is also very keen to see Malegaon developing. But, the city is again lagging behind because of these reasons", he said.
"I fail to understand who is misleading the suppliers, and on whose orders someone uninstalled the kit from the demo site", he added.
[A version of this report was published by The Times of India, Nashik Edition on Friday February 20, 2015. Republished here with more details for the larger interests of the Malegaon textile cluster in particular and the Indian textile industry in general.]
Comments
| Quick linksNews
National
International
Regional
Politics
Education & Career
Business
Science & Technology
Health
Views & Analysis
The Funny Side
© 2012 Awaz Multimedia & Publications. All rights reserved.
Terming the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance government's decision to run National Law University in Ismail Yusuf College campus as immoral, anti-constitutional and an assault on the Muslim character of the college, an NGO said it is just an excuse to encroach over the Muslim endowment land. .... More
Also Read: Muslim NGO plans 'forcible possession' of Mumbai's Ismail Yusuf College
Issa Qaraqe, chief of the Palestinian corporation for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, told Xinhua that the statements of Lieberman 'represent racism, incites for murder and express hatred and hostility. .... More
Also Read: Israel using new methods to torture Palestinians, Arab prisoners
Like Chinese in China, Americans in America all Muslims are Hindus, there is no harm in accepting this fact, he says; receives flak
Mufti Mohammad Ilyas, who claims to a functionary of Jamiat-e-Ulema Hind, created a stirr Thursday by stating that Hindu Lord 'Bhagwan Shiva' was the first messenger of Muslims and like Chinese in China and Americans in America all Muslims are Hindus and there was no harm in accepting this fact. . ... More
Excerpted from "Qur'anic Paradigms of Sciences and Society" Volume 1: Dynamic Paradigm of Health
At that time, my suggestion was laughed off. Now even the WHO has recognised it as an important part in the strategy to combat AIDS. With the advance of Sexual Revolution it can be expected that newer infections will continue to haunt humans; and .... More
Even at that time most of the people had hesitatingly sided with the Sheikh Abdullah under the belief that he would lead them to the ultimate goal of freedom. However, the government soon became. . ... More
The first king to make circumambulation around the Ka'bah without security, he left US president Obama alone to offer Asr prayers
King Salman bin Abdulaziz, who is known for his contributions made to memorization of the Holy Quran, intonation and recitation, memorized the entire Quran while he was only . ... More
Also Read: King Salman leaves Obama alone to offer Asr prayers
Obama was speaking on the final day Thursday of a three-day White House summit to counter violent extremism at the State Department attended by over 60 countries, including India. The Indian delegation is headed by R.N. Ravi, Chairman of India's .... More
Also Read: West and Islam not in conflict: US President Obama